Flyboys
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Movie Reviews of Flyboys
Movie Review: Fun Movie, Bad History
Summary: 4 Stars
This was a really fun movie to watch but it they took an awefull lot of creative liscense. The combat scenes were fun but looked so fake. If you were to dive as steeply as they did in that film for as long as they did in a Nieuport 17 you would rip the lower wing clean off. Probably the same with the Fokkers. If you want more realistic combat scenes I would recomend The Blue Max but this movie will still keep you on the edge of your seat. One think I didn't like was the fact that they made the Germans look really bad. I've read many accounts of German pilots who really went out of their way to be humane and a many stories of allied pilots who were downright cruel (Mannock). WWI was a war where niether side was better than the other, and it was a war that shouldn't have happened. Entangling alliances are an itch.Movie Review: Better than I was led to believe
Summary: 4 Stars
The critics don't like it for the most part, but I really had a good time. Flyboys won't win any awards, but it sure entertained my packed theater. People laughed at most of the little jokes scattered throughout this long film. Clocking in at over two hours it is a bit too long and some of the dialogue is lacking, but the romance is handled well (unlike Pearl Harbor, thank God!), as are the many amazing CGI dogfight scenes. If your bored one afternoon, you should check out Flyboys, otherwise just wait for the DVD.Movie Review: best movie of the year
Summary: 4 Stars
Its sad that the movie will only last a week or two in the theatres since it is a good rip roaring adventure that loosely follows the Lafayette Escadrille in WWI. The special effects are excellent, the planes and action appears to be real. If you get a chance see it on the big screen, it will lose a lot on videoMovie Review: No excuse!!
Summary: 3 Stars
You know, in this day of CG animation, there is absolutely no excuse for the problems with this film! As for it being 'based on a true story,' the only things 'true' about it could be counted on one hand. Yes, there WAS a Lafayette Escadrille; yes, they DID have a lion as a mascot named 'Whiskey;' yes, there WAS a black pilot in the squadron; yes, Vanderbilt DID rent a chateau for them to use as a barracks, and yes, they did fly Nieuports for a while. As for the rest of the story, it is either rubbish, or was composed of a number of incidents actually attributable to a large number of pilots from other squadrons. But even that didn't bother me so much as the PLANES used in this movie! I can't understand it! They got so many of the other details correct (motorcycles, the aerodrome, cars, etc, etc.), how could they screw up the planes so badly, when almost all of them and almost all of the flying scenes were CG?? Is there ANYONE who does not know that the famous Red Baron Von Richtofen was the ONLY German to fly an all-red triplane? As far as I am aware, he was the ONLY German to fly an all-red airplane, period. So why are there entire squadrons of all-red triplanes flying around in this movie? This is an idiotic mistake that could only have happened because the stupid CG animators simply copied the red triplanes out of some stupid video game (probably along with the rest of the planes as well). Blue, green, yellow, checkerboard, just about any OTHER color or color combination could have worked! Also, why did the two-seater (called a Sopwith 1 1/2 strutter, for those that care) not have FRENCH markings, since it belonged to the squadron as their training plane (it was in British markings throughout the movie)? As this was a real aircraft (along with one of the Nieuports, an SE-5, a Bristol, and perhaps one of the Fokker Triplanes, the rest were all CG), my guess is the real owners didn't want their nice British paint job screwed up, but the CG animators could easily have made the changes after filming. Continuity!! And considering the film-makers were in close contact with all the owners and fliers of the real aircraft, all of whom may be considered experts on WW1 aircraft and markings, why is it none of these issues were ever dealt with? All of these things were acceptable when WW1 flying movies were filmed in the '20's and 30's, because the technology was simply not available to make the movies truly accurate. And I know there are a lot of people out there that think I am being too fussy, but dammit! Think about the movie 'Top Gun,' and imagine it filmed with Cessnas instead of F14's, and perhaps you might get the idea. Looks like we will all just have to wait for the 'perfect' WW1 flying movie. In the meantime, I recommend you watch 'The Blue Max' for some real flying with real planes on film...Movie Review: Cliched, Contrived, Laughable Dialogue, But A Great Score With Amazing Dogfight Sequences Make It Worthwhile
Summary: 3 Stars
MOVIE: Flyboys is a strange thing to dissect. It's a movie you really want to like, but you just can't help but face the fact that it's so cliched and poorly written. The story is centered around Blaine Rawlings, a young man who leaves his past to go fly planes in France. Each of the young men has a story behind them. Some do it for glory, some because they are forced to, some trying to make better lives for themselves, or some escaping their troubles. The film tells the story of the Lafayette Escadrille, a fleet of young Americans who flew planes for the French in WWI before the U.S entered the war. The entire film is schmaltzy with some lame dialogue and weak acting, but it's entertaining. The dogfights, even though the CGI seems unpolished, are quick paced and really great. The story does a good job of building the characters, but since the characters are very flat we really don't care when they get shot down and die. Every formulaic cliche is followed and the movie itself can be followed like a map, there is no surprise as to where it builds and leads to. The audience can pretty much stay one step ahead of the characters, and that is due to the poorly written story. Decent cinematography and set design enhance the atmosphere of the movie, and the dogfights are intense and entertaining to watch. The movie just doesn't exceed in any area to make it memorable. The narrative is greatly enhanced by Trevor Rabins score. Rabin flexes his orchestral muscles and delivers one of his best scores ever. All in all the movie was a good experience, but it's just so cliched.
ACTING: The moment after I saw the trailer I asked myself why couldn't they have spent some money on a good cast. James Franco seems to play the same person in every movie. In his previous outing, The Great Raid, he played pretty much the same person. At least The Great Raid had Joseph Fiennes and Marton Csokas. The only credible actor here is Jean Reno who is always great even though the only reason he got the role was because he's French. Martin Henderson never lands good roles and I really don't like him. He tries to pull off a tough guy with a troubled past here, but you just want to flick his nose and laugh every time he gets all up in James Franco's face. A better cast could have helped with the lack of a quality script, it sure did with The Great Raid.
BOTTOM LINE: Amazing dogfights that should be seen on the big screen, but poor acting and a weak contrived script hinders this film from being anything extraordinary.