Bradley Cooper plays Brian Gilcrest, a military pilot contractor that needs to return to Hawaii to oversee the traditional blessing of a pedestrian gate. This gate is important to billionaire Carson Welch’s (Bill Murray) plans to construct a space centre nearby.
On arrival in Hawaii, Brian finds his ex-girlfriend Tracy (Rachel McAdams) married with two kids. One of which he later finds out is actually his daughter.
Emma Stone plays Captain Allison Ng, a young spritely “quarter Hawaiian” love interest that shares the same fascination with space and exploration as Brian did as a youngster. Brian would eventually turn his affections from Tracy to Allison.
Whilst generally considered a box-office flop (generating $26 million at a cost of $52 million), I really enjoyed seeing Bradley Cooper wear a watch he clearly admires, in a plot line that makes complete sense for him do do so (ie a pilot wearing a pilot watch).
Cooper wears the statement watch throughout the movie. There's actually few scenes where he doesn't wear it. This wasn't some prop decision, this is most likely Cooper's personal watch as he is a long-time fan of IWC.
He's been spotted wearing the exact same watch multiple times, including to the tennis with Gerrard Butler and to the movie premier of the Guardians of the Galaxy (both below):
In 2018, IWC decided to cement their relationship with Cooper by making him an official brand ambassador saying:
“With his pursuit of quality and creativity, he is a perfect match for IWC”
The IWC Big Pilot is an impressive watch that incorporates vintage 1930’s design into a practical, well designed iconic timepiece.
If you like larger watches and have a good sized budget to spend, this is definitely worth adding to your shortlist.
Want to pull off a similar look to the IWC Big Pilot, but don’t have that sort of cash handy? Then, the Citizen Eco-Drive Avion is a great choice.
Featuring a slightly smaller size of 45mm and also in stainless steel, the Citizen Eco-Drive Avion might be the sensible introduction to big watches you need before investing in something more expensive.
