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New aviation movies worth seeing

January 18, 2024 By Julie Summers Walker

On a very long commercial flight, I decided to see what movies and shows were available if you needed an aviation fix while stuck in Seat 17F.

Illustration by Wesley Merritt.

So I went through all the listings, writing down movies and shows that featured aviation—in any form—and compiled a list on the back of my boarding pass (it was a very long flight). I realized there is more to aviation films and entertainment than the old classics we always talk about when discussing aviation movies. While it may feel as if Hollywood hasn’t made anything watchable since Twelve O’Clock High and Airplane!, there are some interesting options for watching cool aviation scenes and stories that aren’t nearly as dated. I used 2000 as the starting point, meaning this little exercise offers 24 years of aviation entertainment.

Movie poster for Amelia (2009)

Movie poster for Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Movie poster for Flyboys (2006)

Blockbusters

Amelia (2009) Actress Hilary Swank had 19 hours of flight instruction for the film but for insurance reasons did not fly in any scenes; three other women pilots took on the task.

American Made (2017) The Tom Cruise movie was marred by tragedy. Two pilots were killed and a third severely injured in the crash of a Piper Aerostar in Colombia during filming.

Catch Me If You Can (2002) There’s not a lot of flying in this Leonardo DiCaprio/Tom Hanks movie, but it sure is fun remembering the glamour of the airlines in the 1970s.

First Man (2018) Astronaut Neil Armstrong on his historic and dangerous mission to the moon in 1969. Prepare to be battered about as the movie puts viewers in “the most hellish amusement park ride ever,” one reviewer said.

Flight (2012) Filmmaker Robert Zemeckis is a private pilot and owns a Cirrus SR22. The film is loosely based on the crash of Alaska Airlines 261 in which the pilots attempted to fly the MD-80 inverted.

Flight of the Phoenix (2004) A remake of the 1965 film that took the life of stunt pilot Paul Mantz. Ironically, or interestingly, both Jimmy Stewart who played the lead in the 1965 film and Dennis Quaid who plays the 2004 film lead were/are pilots.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) We always love knowing that Harrison Ford is an accomplished pilot, and there’s always aviation in Indiana Jones movies. The scene where they travel back in time (Rome in 214 BC) in a warbird where it’s attacked as a dragon is fun.

Interstellar (2014) Scientists fly through a wormhole to find another galaxy on the spacecraft Endurance. It’s a nice touch to name one of the space travelers Amelia.

No Time to Die (2021) Q provides Bond with a submersible glider to infiltrate a missile base. Spoiler alert: This does not end well for our hero. I cried.

Sully (2016) Director Clint Eastwood (a pilot) wanted authenticity, so he had a real airliner disassembled and shipped to Hollywood where it was reassembled and flooded with water.

The Aviator (2004) So much criticism was heaped on Pearl Harbor for its use of CGI, director Martin Scorsese wanted Howard Hughes’ aircraft to be depicted by scale models. Aero Telemetry had just three months to create the models of the Spruce Goose, XF–11, and H–1 Racer. The 375-pound model of the Spruce Goose had a wingspan of 20 feet.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022) Pilot Kevin LaRosa II filmed many of the flying sequences for his company Helinet Aviation. Actors Glen Powell and Jay Ellis got their private pilot certificates after filming wrapped.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) The SR–71 used as Jetfire, a Decepticon who switches sides to become an Autobot, is on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center and the sequences were filmed there.

War movies

Dunkirk (2017) Royal Air Force Spitfires, dogfights, oh my. The Spitfires were provided to the film by the Imperial War Museum Duxford, and its owner, Dan Friedkin, piloted the one that lands on the beach.

Flyboys (2006) Although highly criticized for many historic inaccuracies, the telling of American pilots who joined the Lafayette Escadrille in World War I was in part produced by David Ellison, a pilot, and featured a Nieuport 17 from the collection of Kermit Weeks at Fantasy of Flight in Florida.

Midway (2019) You may roll your eyes when actor Nick Jonas’ character Bruno Gaido jumps into a Dauntless SBD and fires on a Japanese Mitsubishi bomber, but like many other scenes in the movie, it really happened.

Pearl Harbor (2001) The two Curtiss P–40 Warhawks, flown in the movie by Danny (Ben Affleck) and Rafe (Josh Hartnett), are authentic World War II aircraft, and were on loan from the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa, Idaho.

Red Tails (2012) Tuskegee Airman Lt. Col. Lee A. Archer Jr. was an advisor for Red Tails. He died in 2010 while the film was in post-production, and the final credits bear a tribute to him.

Independents and Documentaries

Flying Boat (2023) Dirk Braun is a pilot, photographer, and filmmaker who created this homage to the Grumman Albatross, which is told by 10 mechanics and the pilots who have restored and fly the legendary aircraft.

Great Electric Airplane Race (2021) Director Miles O’Brien (the former news anchor and Cirrus pilot) narrates and flies in this NOVA-produced documentary.

History’s Greatest Aircraft (2022) Season one of a seven-part series highlights warbirds from the Shuttleworth Collection, Commemorative Air Force, and the Cavanaugh Museum.

Living in the Age of Airplanes (2015) Narrated by pilot/actor Harrison Ford, this compelling documentary by Brian J. Terwilliger examines the impact aviation has had on the business world. I especially liked the travel sequence of flowers delivered across the world.

New Air Force One: Flying Fortress (2021) National Geographic follows the creation of the new presidential aircraft into a top-secret command center.

One Six Right: The Romance of Flying (2005) Brian J. Terwilliger made his directorial debut with his love letter to California’s Van Nuys Airport. Narration and interviews with Barry Schiff, Clay Lacy, and Bob Hoover.

Secrets in the Sky (2019) The history of Skunk Works, which produced revolutionary aircraft such as the U–2, SR–71 Blackbird, and FB–117 Nighthawk.

The Aviators (2010) A weekly Canadian television docuseries by pilot Anthony Nalli offers behind-the-scenes look at aviation, from following along on the flight lessons of Motley Crue singer Vince Neil to flying with the Blue Angels.

The Machines that Built America (2021) Season one, episode two examines aviation’s growth from Fokker to Ford and Douglas to Boeing.

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