Real JAG Lawyer Reacts: Top Gun - Maverick
Maverick returns to the legal Danger Zone. 🚀 Extended version on Nebula! Get 40% off your subscription! legaleagle.link/watchnebula ⚖️⚖️⚖️ Do you need a great lawyer? I can help! legaleagle.link/eagleteam
Welcome back to LegalEagle. The most avian legal analysis on the internets.
🚀 Watch my next video early & ad-free on Nebula! legaleagle.link/watchnebula
👔 Suits by Indochino! legaleagle.link/indochino
GOT A VIDEO IDEA? TELL ME!
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Send me an email: devin@legaleagle.show
MY COURSES
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Interested in LAW SCHOOL? Get my guide to law school! legaleagle.link/lawguide
Need help with COPYRIGHT? I built a course just for you! legaleagle.link/copyrightcourse
SOCIAL MEDIA & DISCUSSIONS
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Twitter: legaleagle.link/twitter
Facebook: legaleagle.link/facebook
Tik Tok: legaleagle.link/tiktok
Instagram: legaleagle.link/instagram
Reddit: legaleagle.link/reddit
Podcast: legaleagle.link/podcast
OnlyFans legaleagle.link/onlyfans
Patreon legaleagle.link/patreon
BUSINESS INQUIRIES
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Please email my agent & manager at legaleagle@standard.tv
LEGAL-ISH DISCLAIMER
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Sorry, occupational hazard: This is not legal advice, nor can I give you legal advice. I AM NOT YOUR LAWYER. Sorry! Everything here is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Nothing here should be construed to form an attorney-client relationship. Also, some of the links in this post may be affiliate links, meaning, at no cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. But if you click, it really helps me make more of these videos! All non-licensed clips used for fair use commentary, criticism, and educational purposes. See Hosseinzadeh v. Klein, 276 F.Supp.3d 34 (S.D.N.Y. 2017); Equals Three, LLC v. Jukin Media, Inc., 139 F. Supp. 3d 1094 (C.D. Cal. 2015).
Special thanks:
Stock video and imagery provided by Getty Images and AP Archives
Music provided by Epidemic Sound
Short links by pixelme.me (pxle.me/eagle)
Maps provided by MapTiler/Geolayers
Did you 🥺 when Maverick reunited with Iceman? 🚀Get Nebula for for 40% off! legaleagle.link/watchnebula ⚖Get a great lawyer, fast! legaleagle.link/eagleteam
Please Do A JFK 1991 FILM REVIEW ON IT'S LAW ACCRUCY
A suprising number of movies from the 90s touched on military law. I'd really like to see you two cover Rules of Engagement (the Samuel L Jackson movie) and The Siege (the one where martial law is declared in NYC).
Fun fact! There is evidence to suggest the astronauts on the Challenger *did* survive the explosion. They died in the ensuing free fall from 40,000 feet.
Since you're talking about someone deeply involved in Sciencetology, did you see the LIVE arrest of @GrowingupinScientology , Aaron Smith-Levin last night? Do you practice in California?
That was a great scene mostly because of Val's real-life affliction. Moving indeed ... but likely they both broke the law and both deserve the capital punishment!
As someone who worked on a flight deck, nobody on that deck would know or care what Maverick just did. All they know is they launched F-18’s recovered some of the F-18s and somehow an F-14 showed up too.
"Yo Maverick, you know this ain't even the ride I gave you at the start, yes?" 😅
I don't know what it is, but the "somehow an F-14 showed up too" has me rolling on the floor.
I think there's gonna be a super pissed off crew chief or two who handed pilots 2 F-18s and got back a single F-14
I laughed at the briefing below deck. Those crew had no reason to know what was going on.
@@isaacdoggart4879and some poor maintainer from the 90s will start suffering PTSD from servicing the damn things and personally roll it off the side of the deck into the NOT Baltic Sea
As a sailor who served in the aftermath of the original top gun, I can tell you unequivocally that the stricter motorcycle rules established by the military, where, as a direct result of the original movie. At one point during my service the base I was stationed on had in excess of 6000 Crockets on base this was in 86-87.
Crotch Rockets Crockets. Perfection! LOL
Parking for cars must have been easier though.
This makes no sense, finish your sentences
My son is attending USAFA and motorcycles are banned on campus. He had to sign an agreement that he would not even ride one at risk of court marshal. The Air Force’s attitude is that they don’t want to risk a million dollars in training for someone to injure themselves doing something dumb. They have to get a waver signed to go skiing in the resorts around Colorado. So, no there is no way this would be allowed for an officer on an air force base (yes, I know too gun is the navy. I am just giving a point of reference)
Was there a Tubbs to partner with each Crocket?
"There's no better defense than victory" is such a stone cold throwaway line
It's a textbook Marine line.
I *don't* have a problem with Gambling. Because I'm *winning* That's like saying Michael Jordan has a problem with Basketball. Or Metallica has a problem with being awesome" Earl Hickey
@@karanod Isn't that a Stalin quote? Well, it's also fitting for a scientology propaganda movie.
The best defense in court is "The Rule of Cool." Everybody knows that. And everybody knows that every scene in 'Top Gun Maverick' has that defense in hand.
Oh yeah. Rule of Cool makes everything better.
"Your Honor it was sick af"
"I'm cool with that" - Judge
Maybe they could use the “But Didn’t it Look Wicked Cool?” defense.
The "Rule of Cool" is the new Chewbacca defense
Your Honour, I would ask that the record show the statement of Witness A, a 14-year old boy, declares that it did, indeed, and I quote, "look wicked cool."
That defense only works in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
@@Rob_F8F as someone who used to live in mass, I hate to disappoint you but that defense is only acceptable for lawsuits related to driving
@@Rob_F8F beat me to it!
I now love the term "furiously researching"
Should it not have been a quick google search for states that don't require a helmet (Illinois, Iowa, and New Hampshire)? Quickly covered everything west of the Rockies.
“Strenuously object”
@yendub wasn't the research both helmet laws but also where the movie is set? Which could me harder to look up since your fighting against the other movie.
If you are casually researching, you doing it wrong
@@yendub Even a quick search at normal speed in a KZhead video is an endless eternity of not much happening on-screen.
As a marine cannot emphasize enough how much he is underselling how weird his career was😆 I knew he had been a jag and f&c I just thought it was in the other order
Damn I just commented something similar. Yeah, I don't think I have EVER heard of anyone doing it in that order.
Bro did a Harm from jag lol
16:52 Dishonorable Discharge is the most overused term in military movies. I'm especially glad that they pointed out that officers can't even get it
Not only can NCOs take the heat round for YOUR dereliction, but they are often SACRIFICED to save the offending officers career, by the prosecuting authority. This is not official, naturally, but officers protect other officers, even when punishing them. It's the nature of the Officer vs Meatball relationship. The Abu Ghraib prison scandal is a classic example, where they tried lining up and focus fire on the enlisted first. I've seen this scenario play out again and again in my time around Field Grade and General Officer circles. Let's just say...I saw some real s**t in my 24 years in boots that would boggle your mind and DEFINITELY never made the news.
What about Warrant Officers? Do they get dismissed or dishonorables?
Guess you have never seen or heard of a commander getting relieved of command?
@@robertsmithUH60driver My BC. Relieved for about 13 whole days, during which time the XO thought he had just become King and lost his mind. Then the Division and Brigade commander & JAG staff sacked his CSM, a Battle Captain, and Ops SGM, and he came right back. The words Courts Martial were never once uttered about the BC despite him being the host of the 'Good Idea Fairy'. This was in JBB (Edit: Anaconda, as a BlackHawk boss I'm sure you've probably visited it), Iraq and involved a KIA and a WIA in a Convoy Escort Team who were sent on some side shenanigans from the TOC. I don't even recall a letter of reprimand ending up in his jacket, in fact I saw him make full bird (promoted up and away from a guide on maybe?) the year after refrad.
@georgemetcalf8763 Nobody messes with warrant officers so we will likely never know. Lol
Honestly medal followed by mandatory retirement sounds about right for Maverick.
White plays a2?
And a $250 fine for not wearing a helmet.
And then called back just in time for the next sequel
@@jamessalmonson I feel like some kinda Biden joke should be at play, because that's how old any flight wing of the military would view Maverick come a third sequel. I'm seriously struggling to come up with even a slightly believable scenario cause this movie WAS the slightly believable scenario... If Maverick was a Commander (O-5) instead of a Captain (O-6).
What do you think, DFC or DSM?
So my dad was stationed at pendleton during filming. The stories about Tom crisue trying to get into the officer's lounge were always hilarious. Apparently the military guys loved telling him no, he's not an actual service member and no he can't go in there.
I respect him for trying. I respect the military even more for sticking to the rules!
That's a good story. Tom Cruise isn't used to being told "no."
😂😂😂 Navy brat who used to sit right outside the bar at the Chiefs Club. Love it.
@MariaVosa why would you respect someone for trying to get in somewhere they have not come close to legitimately earning the right to be?
I was stationed in Lemoore during filming, I was told that I could meet him, and I turned it down.
"there's no greater defense than victory". i think that one line really summarized alot about how war crime trials have gone in the past
Apparently "I know how to make rockets" is also a pretty good defence.
@@drworm5007 to be fair the people who designed rockets rarely were the ones commiting warcrimes they did not have the time while working on the various projects like the v1
As a sailor on the flight deck, we would not know what the aircrew did unless it was announced. And then it would have to be literally the last recovery of the event, period.
Has something like that ever happened to you?
@likliklik9515 where everyone cheers as aircrew get out of an aircraft? No. Occasionally other pilots from the same pilots might stand off to the side and then head to the aircraft as it's shutting down. But the enlisted are continuing to do their jobs as normal.
As a sailor in the machinery room, we would not know what the aircrew did, period. Unless it was using too much of my water.
I was in the Air Force and training and real felt like two different things. Just by the intensity in the faces of the flight crew.
Another tip was seeing things loaded on a plane that never happened begire 🤔
One year later, and Devin finally gets his motorcycle law revenge
Didn't like because I want the number of likes to be 123 and not 124
As someone whos life has revolved around aviation for over 35 years, I have a whole other set of discrepancies. For instance, the F-35 ABSOLUTELY could have pulled off that mission except you couldn't get those phenomenal cockpit shots as theres no two seat like the Super Hornet, so no rides for everyone. I can go on but its not part of the legal aspect plus I f*cking love this movie.
But... But... F-35 is a bad plane that cant dogfight and has no gun and built on unreliable tech. (This is sarcasm, I'm mocking luddites in the miliary technology enthusiast community)
They could've shot them in a sim, but Cruise insists on using real planes Would've also been a lot more boring since the F-35 wouldn't need to do any cool manuevers
Hence the ridiculous line about the scramblers that magically don't affect the systems in the F-18.
That or even the F-22. Even if the logic of the movie makes sense on why the F-35's stealth capabilities couldn't work in a standard run, one would think you'd still want to use it as it would probably get you more time to do the run with and getting away with it being harder to detect than the F-18.
@@pigs18 Yup, the GPS jamming line pretty much exists to give them an excuse for not being able to use a stealth bomber and thus requiring the F-18's in the valley.
Please do more videos together! It's one thing for Spencer to feature in videos but I love seeing you two interacting. "Excuse me counselor, my answer, yes or no: is it possible?" "Yes. Yes, it's possible. Damn you!"
"You owe me an answer, Major! Only yes or no will due!" - said in a Michael Ironside voice. The "damn you" translated as "I'm a Major and a Marine, yet you just treated me like an errant cadet, and I had the nerve to allow it!" At least it didn't trigger his training and cause him to salute respectfully. LOL! I love it!
I loved that they brought Val Kilmer back. Interesting fact, that’s not Val Kilmer speaking since he has to plug his trach to do it. I believe it was actually his son Jack Kilmer. Jack sounds so much like his dad that he’s done the same in the Willow series and he also narrated the documentary “Val”. I had to look it up because I was so confused since it sounded like Val Kilmer was talking but it was obviously filmed after his cancer. Also I thought the crowd on the deck at the end would’ve been more explainable given the fouled deck.
The voice was computer generated, based on his voice in the past and tweaked for the needs of the scene. Kind of like vocaloids, but more advanced. Val Kilmer was very grateful he could "speak" one more time in a movie and impressed by the result.
@@gabrielgingras814 thanks for the info! That’s impressive what they were able to do.
Missed the wildest bit of the film, that being the whole top gun requirement for deniability then leading the attack with a cruise missile barrage. May as well have used B2's
That's much more strategic military stuff than legal, which is why it was skipped.
Wasn't there something about GPS jammers, so the bombs had to be laser-guided?
@@wwoods66 A B-2 can use laser-guided bombs and the cruise missiles can use inertial guidance. Yeah a B-2 could've solved the whole movie by itself, but personally I'm OK just looking the other way and not worrying about it because the movie is cool.
Could’ve just had the cruiser fire its missiles at the target in the first place instead of the airfield.
USA isn't the only country with cruise missiles. Not the only who sells them either.
1:57. For sure. I used to work on an army base and the nanosecond I answered my phone while driving, an MP nabbed me. $50 fine. No warning. That’s when I learned the Colonel in command had a zero tolerance policy. Military installations tend to not screw around.
I got nailed at my last command I was at before leaving the military for not wearing a helmet. The MA2 that stopped me almost looked like they were about to pass out when they found out who they stopped till I told them they were in the right, and I was in the wrong and no matter the rank or position a person might hold the rules applied to everyone.
I love that you mentioned that this movie is a long form retelling of the Death Star trench run briefing. It's like if the Rebel squadrons had 6 months to practice before the Imperial forces arrived.
The Star Wars trench run was an homage to WWII dam busting missions, so Maverick’s mission was an homage to both. I’ve also heard somewhere that the filmmakers asked their military advisors to design the most batsh*t crazy mission they could come up with and that’s what they submitted 😂
Hot Shots: "We're, uh.. landing... You wanna get out of the way?" "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"
😂😂 Love that scene!!
Maverick could have survived breaking up in the thin upper atmosphere, but he couldn't survive the G forrces of the left turn over Nevada at Mach 10
Thats why the turn was so incredibly wide, the radius was basically an entire state
Yeah, as long as you have a pressurised suit and the air is thin enough, ejecting is not a problem. The thin air means that the drag is small so you bleed off the speed safely over a long time rather than getting it all in your face. Oh, and the space shuttle did not go at about mach 10. Reentry happens at around mach 25, which means it's packing about 6x the energy. At those speeds, the problem isn't actually drag, it's that you're compressing the air in front of you so much that it turns into a plasma. Heat tiles of some kinds as well as carefully designed shapes are needed to prevent that plasma from burning the whole craft to a crisp in seconds. Hard to do that with an ejector seat. Scott Manley had a video on all this when the film first came out, I recommend checking it for more details.
Everyone is presuming that the aircraft broke up upon signal loss. There could have been some structural loss, yet the hull remained intact until he was able to eject, or the more likely scenario is some sort of escape capsule similar to the F-111 and the original B-1A
@@QuantumHistorianthe plasma formation starts occurring around Mach 5 depending on the altitude. That’s one of the problems they are trying to work out with hypersonic weapons. The plasma affects electromagnetic waves and they lose external control/targeting data. I would guess that an American test plane for these speeds has a capsule of some sort though.
@@QuantumHistorian yeah, the other difference is space shuttles aren't planes - they aren't really flying so much as being dropped at an angle. As super fast jet isn't deliberately diagonal to its direction of travel, at least not if it wants to continue being a jet, whilst a space shuttle is designed to fall with style, rather than actually fly, on re-entry. It did all of its flying in the first 8 minutes, now it's just trying to slow down enough that it can parachute in safely (they have to parachute brake, because no part of re-entry is within speeds that are quite slow enough).
I remember the Navy panicking and having to put out a PSA about their pilots not being reckless or supportive of such rebellious attitudes as the ones shown in the film.
Seems odd considering how much the Navy cooperated with the filming.
Strong doubts about any kind of panic considering the script was approved by the navy before any shooting started.
@@TzunSu I checked few articles, and while Navy was supportive of the movie, was also preparing for a slight recruitment boost. I did not find any "panic" but I imagine some officers could go overboard with it.
@@dziewiaty I would imagine the aviation command put out something along the lines of, "We know you guys might be tempted, but you've been trained _not_ to do that, so don't even think about it."
Devon reacting with childish interest as 'Scowl Owl' explains the intricacies of military punishment was v wholesome imo
I appreciate the breakdown of the various scenes from a legal perspective. It adds a new layer of understanding. It never crossed my mind how Maverick's disobedience could lead to a court martial, or the implications of a dishonorable discharge in real life military scenarios.
Hes the worst officer in fake navy history.
"I'm glad they didn't recreate the scene from the original Top Gun and have a party on the flight deck." ... ... "Well, sh*t!"
I never realized that carriers don't have Steel Picnics!!! Those are great stress relievers! We had a crew of 1.5k and we needed that down time and being outside.
@@stevenkidd6761 Not during active flight operations in a hostile area.
@@CDRhammond fair enough, wasn't thinking of that . Got caught up in good memories 🙂🍺
@@stevenkidd6761 Ya good times good times :) nothing better than serving in the navy on a carrier.
The carrier deck party in the first movie (and indeed a great deal of the movie itself) is based on the Gulf of Sidra incident, in which two Tomcats shot down two Libyan Su-22s. When they returned to their carrier, they were greeted with cheers from the flight deck crew more or less just like in Top Gun. So it seems absurd, but it did actually happen.
Riding without a helmet is just crazy. This always bugged me about the original and I couldn't believe they repeated it in the sequel. I've been riding a motorcycle since 1997 (in California) and I've always used a helmet.
Even if the state allows the rider to not wear a helmet all military bases do. As stated Mavrick would not have even gotten through the gate. Course he did also just decide to drive right through without showing his military ID which is a huge never do moment.
I've never had a problem with people riding without a helmet. If they're actually doing it, there are no brains at risk anyway.
As a former Naval Intelligence professional who worked alongside Top Gun and went on to get an MA in Creative Writing (Fiction)... Top Gun: Maverick nearly moved me to tears. It was gripping, well-cast, nailed all the call-backs to the original... and I was groaning at nearly all the same moments Devin and Spencer paused to comment. Arguably as perfect a movie as it could have been, and just as right/wrong about Naval aviation as the original! A few short and (hopefully) amusing real-life Top Gun anecdotes for you: While I was stationed at NSAWC (now NAWDC) the Top Gun command was not allowed to have any affiliation with the original movie - no posters, quotes, vinyls of the soundtrack... nothing. I stood an overnight security watch in the Top Gun building on Christmas Eve to let the usual security guard spend Christmas morning with his grandkids. As the only person in the building for 8 hours, I blasted Kenny Loggins' Greatest Hits and Risky Business'ed down one of the (very slippery) p-ways in my socks. Professional? Not at all. Awesome core memory? You betcha. That same year, I played on the Intel team for the base volleyball league. It was indoors, so no 'Playing with the Boys' oiled up, shirtless shenanigans, but I'm proud to be one of a handful of people in the world who can say they beat Top Gun at volleyball! And, as a quick note, I'll say the main thing both movies got spot-on - Top Gun pilots really are that cocky. What do you expect when everyone and their mother showers you with adoration and tells you you're the best of the best? If you have a choice, get a drink with a group of helo pilots, instead - those guys have all the chill and none of the pretension. ;) Now, if you'll excuse me... I need to go watch both movies in immediate succession.
I do love these collaborations with Spencer. They are always interesting.
Same. Im an artist, with minimal interest in military, war and things that go boom, but ScowlOwl makes this topic easier to digest, even intriguing.
I worked in a Test and Evaluation Squadron. Our Chief Test Pilot was a Navy Captain. Our CO was a Marine LTCOL. They both flew regularly.
I think the point that Legal Eagle was trying to make was that getting your star and making into the general/admiral officer ranks means you're most often piloting a desk than a jet.
When I was a midshipman at the US Naval Academy in 1987, one of the required summer courses was "Law of Armed Conflict". A big part of the class was to watch scenes from movies, like "Red Dawn" and "Breaker Morant" and discuss the violations depicted in the movies.
In terms of getting students to remember the content, teaching from movies is probably more effective than other teaching methods. But, it seems like using a movie like "Breaker Morant" does have the implication of "this is how it's done in the real world. (Breaker Morant is based on a memoir that purports to be an accurate recollection. And, it has something of a Rambo ethos of "unappreciated soldier doing battle for the empire is the true victim".
Wouldn't be any in Red Dawn: those kids were civilians.
@scottlemiere2024 FWIW, the law of armed conflict doesn't exempt people based on their status. If one participates in that which looks like war, one is expected to follow the rules.
How do you use a movie as an example of the law of war when the movie you're using is about a war that happened before the law was written or it was in its infantile stages?
@@jacobbaughman748 The context of Breaker Morant is that the main characters are being tried for war crimes.
As someone who did do some active years, I can say that from time to time you'll get some slightly odd situations. There was a guy who was a class behind me in the schoolhouse whose assignments basically mirrored mine with a degree of separation. Things like same base, companies next door to each other. And then at my last duty station, I got assigned there a month after a guy from the same facility as me in my first duty station left, which I only found out because I spied his name on a locker, and I knew he was assigned to that base. So, yes, running into people, particularly in aviation, which is something of a small world, is wholly possible.
The world is strangely small in the service. lol
So sure, ejection (unintended or not) at Mach 10 is probably problematic, but people survive weird things all the time. During the SR-71 program, 7953 broke up in mid air at about Mach 3.2, and while the navigator, Jim Zwayer, died, the pilot, Bill Weaver, survived the unintended rapid disassembly of the Blackbird around him, even so much as to just come to gliding down on his stability chute, without injury. I wouldn't put it past a program that operates Mach 10 capable aircraft to also ensure that the pilots have the best odds on surviving such an event, even if the odds are low. There's a reason why the SR-71 pilots had the full escape suits to begin with!
That sort of vehicle probably has an ejecting pod, not just a seat.
@@jdotoz It would indeed depend. Granted, this is a fictional aircraft, and they never elaborate on how he survived. The darkstar is roughly based around the SR-72, but no variants have (officially) been produced of that (rumoured uncrewed!!) aircraft, so we can at best speculate.
its more about how the pilot winds up on the airstream and then the g-load. the human body can survive high g loads in a lateral direction. but low g load on a vertical axis.
@@neothermic1 I love speculating!
Darkstar probably had an ejection capsule like the F-111
The location where he was riding without a helmet is Inyokern, California. I know this for sure as I grew up in the neighboring town of Ridgecrest, which is adjacent to the Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake, CA. Inyokern Airport, KIYK, was a primary filming location. I know that airport well, and those mountains even better.
When I was in the navy, in our squadron (vfc-12) we flew f/a 18 charlies (single seater hornet 2nd gen) and we did have a 1 star Admiral (O7) who was a pilot. He was a rank above our CO who was a Captain (O6). So there are indeed Admirals who are fighter jet pilots still.
Yeah, he might maintain his flying status, but he's not going to be flying in any missions I'm sure.
Air Force guy here. We also had a couple of 4 stars who still flew, but their ability to get flight hours was still limited. And as @urass7739 says, they're not going to be on active missions since their actual jobs are in leadership/command.
@@DonP_is_lostagain This^^. It's exactly why their flight requirements are so different than say a Major who has the same training and quals.
Didn't Chuck Yeager keep testing all sorts of aircrafts until he was General?
Quite a few captains flying missions when I was in.
The helmet while riding a motorcycle is so spot on. Gloves, high top shoes/boots, long pants, and a jacket with reflective tape/colors are also mandatory for many a military base.
Everything after the experimental aircraft breakup is a death dream by Maverick. That kind of plot feature would have made the most sense.
Why?
@@Drawing-Rosesbecause its ludicrous and would never ever happen.
Wow, that was so fun. Also, to be honest, I always wondered what our presenter on LegalEagle is like as a person. The way he reacted to the Iceman scene was so human that my opinion of him went up.
Finally, another one of these, and with my favorite guest! As someone who was an aviator in the Air Force flying SpecOPS missions nearly exclusively (some PSYOPS), It's SUPER WEIRD that he was a Judge Advocate and THEN became a JTAC. Literally never heard of anyone doing that before, so he's not overexaggerating when he says he had a convoluted military experience.
I would love to hear how he went from a JAG to a JTAC, that is a transition I would never expect.
The entire interaction with admiral Cain was just confusing to me. There are two options: 1 He isn't linked to the project. In that case, he has no business being there and shutting them down. He also wouldn't care. There are probably a thousand similar projects going on, each costing more than the next. He wouldn't care about this particular project. 2 He is linked to the project. But that makes no sense. Since a contract was mentioned, this means they are working as or with a civilian contractor. In that case, he wouldn't want to shut it down prematurely, because that would be a major breach of contract. The fact Maverick actually manages to achieve the project within what would have been the original contract end proves the project was successful.
You only need to go back in history to find countless examples of contracts for Military prototypes being signed, but those programs still end up cancelled. It all depends on the fine print of the project and the whims of military brass and especially congress and the White House. Prematurely may just mean the project was cancelled before it was able to achieve its goals, but those goals would by no means guarantee that a prototype project would lead to a production contract. Even projects that meet all their goals and win entire competitions against other prototypes are often cancelled.
Yeah, from what I gather about government funding, it's there until you use it up, and how much you spend will determine how much you get in the next federal budget. So cancelling the program doesn't necessarily mean, "OMG we don't have any money to do this, stop the program nao!", and as you say, it's not like an admiral would particularly try to stop the program unless he wants to for some very odd reason. But writers and producers either don't know how this works, or they _do_ know but they know they can get away with it because most people don't know how it works...
@@rapter229I'm aware of those, having some experience with it. But in this instance it makes no sense. The project looked successful and was minutes away from being completed. So, even *IF* there was a decent enough reason for Cain to cancel the project (seemingly for the money for his budget), it wouldn't have mattered at all. The budget for project has already been spent, there would have been zero benefit for a cancellation at this point. It's not the cancellation that irks me, it's that combined with the timing. And the fact some seemingly random admiral does it, just so he can get the budget for his own project (that's also not how it works by the way, he wouldn't be able to just claim any leftovers for his own pet project). I'd also like to point out that while your are correct regarding that 'fine print', it also happens the US government breaches the contract and just pays the fine, simply because that is cheaper.
@@rapter229 Personally, I think this part of the movie didn't add anything at all. There's video from Mover (Mover Ruins Movies) where they analyse the movie (two former fighter pilots). They had a far better idea for the intro, which was to show the backstory between the new crew. There's a whole bunch of references and indications of past relations that are never explained.
@@Shade01982 I just personally have to heavily disagree. While it is true money already allocated would not be transferred to the other project, Cain wasn't just thinking about a specific project, but the future direction of all development. If Congress and Brass are convinced by his arguments that the future of air superiority is unmanned, then cancelling the cutting edge of manned aircraft means that future allocation will go towards more unmanned projects. Cain isn't doing it because he has a specific pet project, but because he sees the funding going to the Dark Star as a complete waste of resources that hurt national security in the long term. In the movie, it is clear he has succeeded in convincing the people who pull the strings that even if the Dark Star meets its goals, it isn't the right option for the United States military. And to go back to history, time and again, there have been cutting edge designs that become the pet projects of certain thinkers or designers that are objectively the highest performance version of a concept yet to be successfully created and operated, but changes in Budget, Doctrine, Etc. lead those programs to being cancelled because ultimately what is important is whether or not a design fits doctrine and how much money fulfilling that doctrinal need is available. For some things like Stealth Bombers, high single unit costs are acceptable because the planes fill what is seen as a necessary role. On the other hand, no successor to the SR-71 was ever brought to completion because the Military has access to other things that fulfill its role, but without the same risks and downsides. Also see something like the XB-70 Valkyrie that would have been the fastest and most advanced Strategic bomber in history, but the rise of ICBM's meant it's expense could no longer be justified. The Dark Star would not be an affordable aircraft, no matter how you slice it. If you take a second to actually consider the utility of a Mach 10 fighter, in my opinion at least, Cain was absolutely right too. Extreme speed hasn't been the primary goal of Air Supremacy fighters for a long time. The only fighters that every chased extreme speeds are used in an interceptor doctrinal role, but that role itself fell by the wayside with the downfall of strategic bombers and the rise of ICBMs. You cannot dogfight at Mach 10, you cannot launch Air-to-Air missiles at Mach 10. And SAM technology is advanced enough that if someone fielded a Mach 10 aircraft, it could still be shot down, (The Sprint missile from 1975 already demonstrated mach 10 speeds). This is why stealth has taken precedence over speed, because you cannot outrun SAMs. Also add to these issues the fact that the extreme conditions experienced will require extreme amounts of maintenance to keep the aircraft flightworthy, and you have not only the most expensive fighter in US military history, but the costliest to run and maintain. The Dark Star ticks all the boxes for a program that gets cancelled prematurely because although it is the ultimate dream for someone like Maverick, it doesn't actually make sense for those in Washington and the Pentagon.
You guys have good chemistry on screen together, it was a more chill viewing experience
The "Higher command has precedence in orders" rule can be seen in Down Periscope (awesome movie, Kelsey Grammer, 1996). You should check that one too (also, about submarines, so, you can check both up and down). :D
5:19 some super sonic planes like the 111 aardvark had exactly that, a capsule that would protect the pilot while ejecting.
Love that you are starting to add laws of physics to the mix.😉
Just took the January LSAT two weeks ago, excited to start my journey in law
Excited ...for now
Don’t do it! Everyone I’ve ever met who’s gone to law school/become a lawyer regretted it
I love videos with the two of you together. You have such a great chemistry.
18:34 My personal headcanon on this is they brought him along (don't forget he was at Top Gun too!) specifically as the one person who can slightly manage Maverick.
Maverick knew the range was clear becasue Range Control confirmed it was clear. That's what the signal "Green range" meant.
I'd love to hear the charges kurt Russell would get in Overboard. 😆
kidnapping, false imprisonment, r*pe, and a few others. the doctors would be in more trouble i would think.
lmao, the personnel at that hospital that let kurt force a kiss on her and then kidnap her would also get some charges i bet!
I love the movie, but yeah. The movie Big did some really questionable stuff too.
@@_Twink pretty much every fish out of water movie did questionable stuff
@@cmdraftbrn The adult sleeps with a 13 year old to advance her career, and the movie is just like "lol awkward right?".
I love seeing your banter back and forth!
"Maverick I have a phone number for you to call when you land. Prepare to copy..."
The discussion of orders/rank reminds me of the decision of Master Funduk, an Alberta Master-in-Chambers (a judicial officer who makes decisions that move matters closer to trial). In South Side Woodwork (1979) Ltd. v. RC Contracting Ltd. he was asked to make a ruling contrary to a superior court order. His decision was, in part: [51] Any legal system which has a judicial appeals process inherently creates a pecking order for the judiciary regarding where judicial decisions stand on the legal ladder. … [53] I do not overrule decisions of a judge of this court. The judicial pecking order does not permit little peckers to overrule big peckers. It is the other way around.
I actually thought of the original Legal Eagle video (and the comments) when the no helmet bike scene popped up in Maverick.
"Theres no better defense than victory" translated: it's not a war crime if you win
Watched the extended version on Nebula. It was great! 😂. Wished there was more than ten extra minutes, because you two are fun to watch, but I am appreciative of the extra footage.
I'd really like to see your take on Michael Clayton. Especially regarding your thoughts on how events would play out after the credits roll.
"Michael Clayton" should be put in the context of Michael Cohen and other real life fixers.
Holy F, I was just watching that movie 30 min ago.
Yep. It's an overlooked movie, despite the plaudits and awards it won when originally released.👍
The flight over the building was less than 200ft which would blow out the windows of the building. Possible article 15 UCMJ.
Interesting point here at 5:08 but there is precedent for an aircraft to have an ejection capsule, the F-111 Ardvark had one for the pilot/copilot. Also Chuck Yeager was an Airforce Captain but that puts him at O-3, not O-6.
Gen. Yeager flew his last testing flight in December 1963, after having earned the rank of Colonel (0-6).
24:43 Best reaction tbh just “well shit”
I'm in the need for speed 😂
Mav seems like the kind of guy who doesn't answer his work phone or check his email out of the office.
And as I said in the previous video, you might be surprised how much it matters in practice whether you succeed in what you set out to do when you violate orders.
Depends. Maybe he's always hoping they'll call him in for a risky mission. Wouldn't want to miss that call
Now wait a minute. That sounds like an average European guy...🤣
I mean why would you work off the clock?
Why would you work outside of work hours?
Loved your previous videos together and breakdowns, would love to see more! 👍
This is without question my favorite video you have ever made - please do more like these!
Hey man! Love your videos! Thanks for inspiring people to peruse law and spreading your knowledge! ❤❤🎉
Objection. Hondo was a CW4. Chief Warrant Officer 4. He wasn't enlisted. Strictly speaking he ranks above enlisted and below the non-Warrant officers. They are subject matter experts, or in this case he was probably Maverick's personal aid of some kind.
I heard on Reddit that part of the privileges of Maverick's rank is that he gets to bring Hondo around wherever he goes
@@Ramboost007 And he wasn't exactly needed on the Dark Star program any more.
I enjoyed the professionalism and appreciation for each other
Loved this; well done Devin & Spencer. Well done!
The FA18F Super Hornets are 2 seat variants, and the EA18 Growler is also a 2 seat variant.
A good example of what might likely happen to Maverick, is looking at the court martial of Billy Mitchell
I agree that the final mission on Top Gun Maverick seems like a bad copy of Death Star run. However, in Ward Caroll's channel, it was revealed that it was retelling of a real mission including targeting pod problems. I'd say it may be in an interview with Adm. Sandy Winnefeld, but a quick glance does not return any matches.
loved the first one and love that you guys went back to do the sequel. great video! cheers.
This dude went from a JAG to a JTAC! He's like the real life reverse of Harmon Rabb!
It would make an interesting show for you guys to go over more of the differences between military and civilian courts processes and laws.
Whatever the crimes against the military code of justice or realism, or the laws of physics, I forgive it all for making such a great movie, and such a great sequel. The love for what made the original great is really felt in this, and that's a rarity in this day and age.
Im so excited omg you haven't done one of these in so long and they're my favorite
The duo reviews are great, please do more! :)
As an E3, at the gate of Top Gun, I demanded a current ID to enter the base. An E6, pushed his way through, and I pursued a write up. It eventually ended up as an apology..
Did he accept your apology?
This is why our stuff keeps getting leaked
@@jakepullman4914 haha
@@jakepullman4914 I was wondering: which one of you had to do the apologizing?
As a former E6 myself (but not this one), we would be the ones apologizing. Security has a job to do.
Objections/Corrections. The Darkstar is thought to be like the A-12/SR-71 where it does have a capsule to help the pilot survive. As for the Challenger. It wasn't even going Mach 2 when it blew up at a height of around 46,000 feet. If that was about the Colombia which seems more likely since it happened on reentry. That was at Mach 23 and a height of 200,000 feet. Both are far off of what is shown in the film in altitude, speed and air density. The fastest sustained altitude I can find is the A-12 at 94,000 feet. There are ways to go higher but it isn't nearly the same thing. (Go up as high as thrust will take you IE: vertically and let speed do the rest) A modified MiG-25 holds that record at 123,523 feet. Above 100k the air is so thin control of an aircraft through normal things like ailerons, elevators and rudder become almost useless. More speed can help but you get diminishing returns. So back to the point. The max altitude on the Darkstar is about 100-150k feet. While the original film is at NAS Miramar. It is now MCAS Miramar. That happened way back in 1996. So no, he was never a lawyer there whey it was still a Navy base, only after it had become a Marine base. Top Gun is now at NAS Fallon in Fallon, NV which is more toward Reno, NV. But I guess since they wanted to keep that Pacific ocean air base vibe alot of the shots are from North Island NAS in San Diego and the surrounding area.
I just love the video started with two lawyers spending around a quarter of an hour looking up and talking about the law around Bike Helmets for the first minute of the video
Enjoy all of the content but have a special place in my heart for the JAG stuff. My father was USAF JAG, retiring as a Staff Judge Advocate, and would have been 100 next week if he were still around. A captain that worked for him in Greece actually eventually became the USAF JAG.
Unrelated @LegalEagle, can you explain the Rockstar Games - Remedy logo lawsuit if you think it's worth discussing? And why legal teams go aggressive for absolutely no reason despite clearly being in the wrong? Thank you!
My former CO on the USS George Washington Captain David Lausman was caught up in the "Fat Leonard scandal. He was not dishonorably discharged even though he was convicted and sentenced to 30 months in jail. So true that Mav would not have been dishonorably discharged.
Can confirm that often test pilots are higher rank officers, especially for MRO Functional Check Flights. This is because they have many more flight hours and experience on more airframes. This is desirable for test pilots so they have more knowledge of how similar airframes perform when they are trying to fly a whole new airframe. For aircraft coming out of maintenance, they want pilots who are intricately familiar with how the plane is SUPPOSED to perform so they can inform maintenance personnel of any flight quality discrepancies that crop up.
I appreciate you and thank you for making content.
You guys should do a mock trial against each other. That would also be enjoyable like this was.
I loved when Maverick reunited with Iceman! I cried!! Great story telling!!
It's time to let go Having two conversations at the same time
I’ve been waiting for this video ever since I saw your video on the first Top Gun. And it is everything I hoped it would be and more. ❤ Have a damn good day Devin & Spencer!
Watched the extended version on Nebula, loved it
Honey! There’s a new Legal Eagle video!
Hondo is a Chief Warrant Officer. Also - the test base in the movie is Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in California.
He most likely was unintentionally referring to the current real world Top Gun location at NAS Fallon in Nevada.
@@jamesmarciel5237 I thought he was talking about the scene where he's riding his motorcycle from his hangar/Airstream pad to where they were testing the SR-72. I believe they were geeking out on motorcycle helmet laws. That hangar was a real one at Inyokern Airport, which was a former US Navy facility, although the UNITED STATES NAVY on the side was added, where it doesn't normally carry any markings. They actually filmed at NAWS China Lake. They used a lot of locations including NAS North Island (which isn't the home of Top Gun), NAS Fallon, and NAS Lemoore. Some of the best footage was from South Lake Tahoe where they filmed the winter survival scene and apparently were allowed to do a lot of damage to Lake Tahoe Airport (stand-in for the enemy airfield) since they were going to rebuild it anyways.
Ah, I have always hopfed for a volume two in this series since seeing the first one! GREAT!
Ooh ooh ooh I know this one! People probably mentioned it, but in fact, on a place going that speed at that altitude, escape pods are a thing that are built in to the craft. The entire cockpit ejects from the bottom.
“Not Iran” 😂
I never get tired of anything related to this movie
I love you guys and these posts.
4:45 there actually is someone who survived a plane breaking up at Mach 3; in the SR-71 in 1966, Bill Weaver survived the plane breaking up at Mach 3 up at 79,000 ft altitude.
I'm so glad they bring back lawyer movie reaction
As a rule, I generally don’t watch reviews of movies that I haven’t seen yet; BUT, I love Devon’s take on things enough that I will make an exception.
Watch it, man. Suspend your disbelief about the F-35 and it's a great movie that lives up to the hype.
Watch it, on the biggest screen you can.
Semper Fidelis, brother!