Fly Navy said:Hey, Top Gun definitely has its gay moments, but that movie was a smash hit with... everyone. Firebirds? Come on, it's the Iron Eagle of the helicopter world. Now, We Were Soldiers had some nice helo action, landings in hot LZs and such. Good stuff.
Firebirds was a failed attempt to make a helo Top Gun. However, there hasn't been another "Top Gun" since Top Gun, either. Every so often there's an airstrike or the generic reporter on a flight deck setting the "world in crisis" motif, but that's it. Helos play a best supporting actor role in a lot of movies, for good and bad, hence the cliches.
I would add Blackhawk Down in with We Were Soldiers as a pretty decent helo movie.