Iron Eagle II

Iron Eagle II (also titled Iron Eagle II: The Battle Beyond the Flag) is a 1988 action film directed by Sidney J. Furie and written by Furie and Kevin Alyn Elders. It is the first sequel to the 1986 film Iron Eagle, with Louis Gossett Jr. reprising his role as Charles "Chappy" Sinclair, alongside newcomers Mark Humphrey, Stuart Margolin, Maury Chaykin, Alan Scarfe, Colm Feore, and Clark Johnson. An uncredited Jason Gedrick also returns as ace pilot Doug Masters in the film's opening scene. Like its predecessor, Iron Eagle II received negative reviews. It also did not fare well at the box-office, with earnings of $10,497,324. Despite this, it was nominated for three Genie Awards (Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Sound Editing, and Best Overall Sound). Plot While on a routine patrol in United States airspace west of Alaska, pilots Doug "Thumper" Masters and Matt "Cobra" Cooper test the g-forces of their F-16C fighter aircraft. Their antics get them carried away, and they stray over Soviet airspace. As they are being escorted back into U.S. airspace, one of the Soviet fighters locks onto Doug, resulting in a dogfight where Matt loses control of his plane and is too late to save Doug, who is shot down by the Soviets. The next day, the U.S. Secretary of Defense publicly denies the incident, claiming a training accident caused by a fuel system malfunction killed Doug. At the United States Air Force Museum in Arizona, Col. Charles "Chappy" Sinclair is taken out of reserve duty and promoted to brigadier general to lead "Operation Dark Star", a top-secret military operation. He meets up with Matt and the rest of the operation's selected pilots and soldiers at an undisclosed military base in Israel. The group is shortly joined by a group of Soviet pilots that comprise the other half of the operation, much to their dismay. During their briefing, it is revealed that an unnamed Middle Eastern country has completed construction of a nuclear weapons compound capable of launching warheads towards both the United States and the Soviet Union. Their mission is to destroy the compound, as its nuclear arms will be ready within two weeks. Both the Americans and Soviets have difficulty cooperating with each other. The situation is further complicated when Matt realizes that ace pilot Yuri Lebanov is the one who shot down Doug. At the same time, he slowly develops a relationship with female pilot Valeri Zuyeniko.