Originally Posted by
El Grifo
The character played by Cruise came over as a privileged little tw#t, who continually broke rules and through utter arrogance, got his best buddy killed !
Might be good for the USAF or USMC but I cannot imagine him lasting 5 mins this side of the pond !
For some reason, film makers (at least those on this side of the pond) have an affinity for that type of pilot, even if it's not true or particularly appropriate for the character. They did the same thing with the hero pilot in the recent "Midway" remake (Capt. Best?). I'm fairly well read on the Battle of Midway (and recently read "Never Call Me a Hero" autobiography of Dusty Kleiss" and never seen any mention of any "Hot Dog" pilots. Pure Hollywood...