R2B: Return to Base (2012)
R2B: Return to Base is a 2012 South Korean aviation action drama film loosely based on the critically acclaimed 1986 film Top Gun. The film stars Rain, Shin Se-kyung and Yoo Jun-sang in lead roles. It was directed by Kim Dong-won and is a remake of Shin Sang-ok’s 1964 film Red Scarf. It is about a talented, yet troublemaking, elite air force pilot who is demoted to a combat flying unit. It was released on 15 August 2012. The Republic of Korea Air Force was heavily involved in the film’s production.[citation needed] The film was the final acting project for Rain, before he enlisted to serve his mandatory military service in October after filming wrapped in September 2011. The film is also known under the alternate titles Black Eagle and Soar Into the Sun.
Plot.
Captain Jung Tae-yoon (Rain), a Republic of Korea Air Force pilot in the Black Eagles aerobatic team, performs a cocky and dangerous maneuver during an air show and is transferred to the 21st Fighter Wing, a combat unit flying the F-15K strike fighter, led by Brigadier General Choi Byeong-gil (Jo Sung-ha) and Major Park Dae-suh (Kim Sung-soo). There he meets Cheol-hee (Yoo Jun-sang), the unit’s own elite pilot. The two come into conflict immediately, since Tae-hun is free-spirited, whereas Cheol-hee is more by-the-book. When a Korean People’s Air Force MiG-29 crosses the Korean Demilitarized Zone in an attempt to defect, the 21st sorties to escort it. However, during the mission, a second KPAF MiG-29 suddenly arrives, shoots the defector down, and enters South Korean airspace. With the pursuit reaching Seoul, the pilots attempt to engage,
but are told that the rules of engagement prohibits engaging over populated areas, allowing the MiG-29 to attack Seoul, causing major damage and numerous casualties. Tae-yoon and Dae-suh pursue the MiG-29 as it returns to North Korean airspace, but it manages to damage Dae-suh’s plane. Dae-suh, noticing civilians below, ejects Ji Seok-hyun, his weapon systems officer, to safety and maneuvers his plane out of the civilians’ way, but his ejection seat fails and he crashes into the mountain, killing him. Unable to engage the MiG-29, Tae-yoon is forced to turn back, allowing the MiG-29 to escape.
Back at the base, the 21st is informed that a rogue North Korean battalion led by General Kang Sang Yeol has taken a nuclear silo and is planning to fire a ballistic missile at the United States. An officer with United States Forces Korea informs the ROKAF that
they have a B-2 Spirit ready for a preemptive strike, which would reignite the Korean conflict. Because the U.S. refuses to rescue Seok-hyun, the ROKAF and the Ministry of National Defense secretly launch their own rescue mission, assigning only a T-50 and an F-15K to avoid attention.
The mission is launched, and Seok-hyun is rescued by South Korean pararescue troops. After destroying the rogue battalion’s base, the 21st are confronted by the MiG-29 from earlier, and they engage each other. During the dogfight, the MiG-29 stalls, allowing Tae-yoon to shoot it down. The T-50 is lost while trying to evade a SAM; however, the pilot survives. The rescue mission and strike against the nuclear silo are a success, and the B-2 strike is called off. At the end, Tae-yoon is shown giving his respects to his fallen comrade.
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