I don't know why this film gets such rave reviews. I went into it with no expectations other than to enjoy it. I wasn't expecting Top Gun, and fortunately I didn't get that. I didn't get much enjoyment, either.
Actually, I did have some expectations, because it has Willem Dafoe and Rosanna Arquette in the cast, so how could it be bad? It could be bad because of over-the-top direction and screenplay, that's how. This is easily the worst performance by Dafoe I've ever seen. So he must have been acting according to directions. Arquette was just wasted. She should have said "no".
So, imho, this film was ruined by being eye-rollingly corny, which appears to be what a lot of people want, and they identify it as "realism". To me, realism is the sort of thing we got in "Behind Enemy Lines", which is a textbook example of how to make a film of this genre. See Top Gun again instead. It's shallow, but at least it's entertaining.
Actually, I did have some expectations, because it has Willem Dafoe and Rosanna Arquette in the cast, so how could it be bad? It could be bad because of over-the-top direction and screenplay, that's how. This is easily the worst performance by Dafoe I've ever seen. So he must have been acting according to directions. Arquette was just wasted. She should have said "no".
So, imho, this film was ruined by being eye-rollingly corny, which appears to be what a lot of people want, and they identify it as "realism". To me, realism is the sort of thing we got in "Behind Enemy Lines", which is a textbook example of how to make a film of this genre. See Top Gun again instead. It's shallow, but at least it's entertaining.