Originally released as The Ace, a portrait of "a warrior without a war," a Marine pilot who is something of a patriot, something of a practical joker, something of a family man, and something of a bully, and who has no satisfactory way to burn off his excess energies in the dormant years before the Vietnam War. A somewhat piecemeal movie, but the individual pieces are often sparkling: truly beautiful aerial photography; astute selection of people and places around the military town of Beaufort, South Carolina; and quite a complex view of family life, with a sensible sense of how even the most incendiary domestic crisis will eventually blow over and be forgotten (e.g., the father's fury at being bested by his teenage son in a backyard basketball game: "Get away from me before I knock every freckle off your face!" he advises his peace-making daughter, and a moment later he is bouncing the ball off his son's head in an effort to goad him into a rematch). With Robert Duvall, Michael O'Keefe, and Blythe Danner; written and directed by Lewis John Carlino. (1980) — Duncan Shepherd
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