Ian
(Flash Review)Based on a true story, before WWI begins, a bunch of Americans volunteer to be fighter pilots for the French military and learn to master these early aviation machines and battle the Germans. The movie brings a typically eclectic bunch of characters, based on real people to some degree, and create partially flushed out characters from them. The movie shows how the pilots were trained to fly these plans as well as how to prepare for combat. There are several fairly exciting battles in the sky but after a while tend to get a bit redundant. There is also a true romantic story line to compliment the battles. Overall, it was average but the director failed to dramatically engage the viewer with the characters to evoke true emotions for them mostly because the drama is very cliché and been there done that many times before. A better example of this subject can be found almost 100 years earlier with Wings (1922).
dfwesley
I read some of critical reviews and agree with much of the commentary. Historical inaccuracies regarding the airplanes and various dog fighting sequences reduce the enjoyment of the film. On the other hand, maybe ignorance is bliss. Knowing too much historical detail is a handicap in this production. Disregarding the type and performance of fighter planes, and some of the other criticisms, the viewer should be able to find some enjoyment here. I for one, am mostly interested in the battle scenes, and like many critics, found disappointing errors there. It made me miserable to see somebody shooting another pilot, in flight, with a handgun. Before machine guns came into use rifles or pistols were used, but quickly became passe. From what I read it had been almost impossible to hit anything that way. The battle scenes seemed more lengthy and detailed than in DAWN PATROL and BLUE MAX, but not as effective. In addition, those two movies were better plotted and more engrossing.Take this movie for what it is, not what it tries to be.
Steve Pulaski
Flyboys was a huge gamble in its time of release for not only director Tony Bill, but everyone involved, as it was one of the few modern pictures centering on a part of World War I and not boasting a particularly large cast. It was a gamble that didn't pay off. Frowned upon by critics, and unable to recoup more than a forth of its budget, Flyboys is now, in multiple senses, a curious piece of history.There is an appeal here, not just for World War I enthusiasts, but action movie buffs in general. They'll likely get their fix. For the rest of us, this is a rather forgettable endeavor. It follows the Lafayette Escadrille, an air squadron in 1916 France that boasts volunteer Americans that would take part in aerial combat. Our lead character, Blaine Rawlings (James Franco), was faced with the foreclosure of his family's ranch and decides to join the squadron in an attempt to regain pride. He is met with a number of other volunteers, some content, some obnoxious, all young and seemingly destined for death. There's something about a job that states if you're in danger to either burn with your plane, shoot yourself in the head, or jump the hundreds of feet the surface that rubs me the wrong way. These airmen were incalculable in their bravery. Too brave to be featured in a film that often shortchanges their success by making this epic follow formula.The film shows the trainings, tribulations, conflicts, and combat instances the Escadrille endured, and the endless amount of stress and nervousness they undoubtedly experienced, what with not knowing if they would live to see another day or not. With this in mind, I believe, one of the biggest things writers Phil Sears, Blake T. Evans, and David S. Ward should've tackled more efficiently would be the psychological trauma likely faced by these young men. We see some, but not nearly enough to warrant much emotion whatsoever. Too often does the focus of character development and analysis shift to filming choppy, unremarkable scenes of aerial combat. Without going too much into the aesthetics of the fights, which are fairly well-done for a medium-budget war piece, I doubt the planes of World War I had the ability and ingenious craft of zipping by faster than a modern-day jet. This becomes rather exhaustive, and overall, bland and unnecessary to a film that sets itself up as a 1900's character piece. The first aerial sense is tense and conducted well, predominately because we don't know what to expect. The rest are perfunctory and predictable.One rather unique element the film employs with great confidence is the relationship between Rawlings and Lucienne (Jennifer Decker), a French girl looking after her brother's three children. Lucienne doesn't speak a word of English, but both her and Rawlings have a mutual attraction. This obviously makes their relationship extremely difficult, due to the fact that communication is greatly slanted. With that, Flyboys unexpectedly details just how cultural assimilation takes effect. It deserves points for that.From a cinematography perspective, this film has a nice look to it. Its costume design is lovely and its old-age look is a break from monotonous modernity we often see in epics today. If there's one thing to see Flyboys for, it's for the visuals and design. There's a consuming look going on here, and much of the credit is due to Henry Braham, for a terrific job on the look and aesthetics. All of this is captured through Tony Bill's direction, which is akin to Tony Scott; visually stunning, but ultimately, redundant.James Franco is pretty capable in a lead role, yet we can tell he is still trying to find his footing in a lead role. As an actor who was usually made a secondary character, there's a bit of ground he has difficultly covering, most notably during some of the scenes when he's supposed to come off as brave yet nervous. For the most part, though, he's a good character-actor to watch. He elevates his material in an efficient and eye-catching way.Yet what it boils down to is that Flyboys takes a true story of bravery, courage, and unselfishness and oversimplifies it into a film that is all too keen on being an interchangeable action film. The next film that would come along and make aerial combat the basis for its focus would be George Lucas' Red Tails, which would still be in production when this film was being made. When released in 2012, it would garner negativity and fail to recoup its budget, much like Flyboys. At this point in time, the aerial-war genre is in the same position as the pirate genre in the 1990's; it's looking for a savior to make it popular and profitable. We need a Gore Verbinski, stat.Starring: James Franco, Martin Henderson, Jean Reno, Jennifer Decker, Abdul Salis, Philip Winchester, Tyler Labine, and David Ellison. Directed by: Tony Bill.
