‘Blue Angels’ Film Shows Pilot’s-Eye View Of Daring Military Feats

If ever a subject was suited for IMAX, it has to be the U.S. Navy’s elite demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels — known for jaw-dropping maneuvers with four F/A-18 jets flying together at 400 miles per hour, only inches apart. 

Now actor and producer Glen Powell, known for depicting fighter pilots in “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Devotion,” and producer J.J. Abrams of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise have collaborated to capture “The Blue Angels” up close and personal. The documentary film, which many museums and specialty IMAX screens plan to run throughout this summer, just landed on Prime Video. 

Abrams, known for his hit “Star Trek” films, contrasts his usual special effects shots — “You plan these moves and it’s cool, but it’s not real” — with what he witnessed with the Blue Angels. “What these pilots do, it’s real. There are no second chances. It is truly a life and death demonstration.”

In an interview with Capt. Greg Wooldridge, longtime commander of the Blue Angels, he told me the film is visually “unparalleled and unmatched” because of the production crew’s expertise.

“They got Kevin LaRosa, who did aerial coordination on ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ into a helicopter with these Sony Venice cameras and the Phantom high-speed camera that (films) a thousand frames a second,” said Wooldridge. “It’s never happened before, and it will last forever.” 

Film director Paul Crowder (“Once In A Lifetime”) noted their production helicopter — with a battery of bulky cameras — was