| |
Flyboys . . . genetically-engineered superheroes from the future - part fly, part boy! Okay - not really.
Flyboys is based on true events that took place back in the early 1900’s. It’s about the U.S. men who volunteered to fly with the French before we entered World War II. What makes that fact amazing is that these men were flying airplanes in combat just about 10 years after the airplane was invented. The movie stars James Franco (U.S. pilot) and Jean Reno (Captain of the French air fleet). The story shows the journey of some of the U.S. pilots as they joined with the French to fight the Germans by air. It’s jam-packed with impressive flying scenes showing the men fly their bi-wing, Red Barren, type planes against the German’s more advanced tri-wings. Mixed in with the flying scenes is a bit of a boring romance and some human war drama.
So, a war where the French actually do some fighting? Please! Not buying it, Hollywood! Just like the previews suggest, Flyboys has some truly amazing flying scenes. In fact, the flying scenes are so elaborate and realistic that they're mesmerizing - much like an IMAX theater experience, perhaps. The rest of the movie is just okay. The story is not particularly gripping, the acting is not particularly impressive, and the ending is not particularly climatic. And while the flying scenes are fun, they're fairly difficult to follow; you're never quite sure who is shooting whom, which undoubtedly sucks some of the excitement out of the experience. Maybe most troubling, though, is that the movie is painfully realistic . . . meaning of course, that you have to watch a lot of the good guys die.
|
