Flyboys Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)October 16th, 2006
Weak Script Almost Grounds ~{!0~}Flyboys~{!1~}
by Homer Yen
(c) 2006
I can always appreciate the level of ambition
that it takes to bring a film like ~{!0~}Flyboys"
to the big screen. It is about a group of World
War I fighter pilots, some brave and some
foolish, who were the pioneers of a new type of warfare. It has as its backdrop a pivotal point
in history when the tides of war were swayed by
the derring-do of a few individuals. And it
heightens our appreciation for something that we generally take for granted today~{!-~}the
airplane.
Mostly, however, my soft spot for this film lies
not with the final product but with the entrepreneurial spirit needed to bring this to
life. ~{!0~}Flyboys~{!1~} took over two years to bring to the theatres, it has an $85 million production that has the trappings of a summer blockbuster, and it is likely one of the most
costly and elaborate independent films ever made.
When giants like Wal-Mart come into town,
I~{!/~}m the kind of guy that likes to support
the boutique stores. So despite its many
weaknesses, I hope that you~{!/~}ll support the
little guys like these.
The story focuses on the legendary Lafayette Escadrille, the first American fighter-pilot
squadron to see action in World War I in the
skies over France. A band of motley characters
come here for many reasons. The central
character is Blaine Rawlings (James Franco), a
guy in trouble with the law back in the US who
comes over to try something new. There are also others including the underachieving heir to a
great fortune, an African-American boxer who can
never escape racial prejudice, and a brooding
squadron leader who seems to have a death wish
when he~{!/~}s not yearning for revenge against a
few select enemies. ~{!0~}Did you know that the pilot's life expectancy is three to six weeks?"
he asks. He~{!/~}s not exactly a morale officer.
Imagine some of the expert training that the
pilots are getting. One edict is that if your
front machine gun jams, use a hammer to nudge it
back into proper operation. Another edict is
that you should carry a pistol. It~{!/~}s not
that you~{!/~}ll get much chance in the air to
shoot someone, but if your bi-plane becomes
engulfed in flame and the pain of burning up is
too intense, the pistol could be an easy
pain-killer. Also, if you are to crash-land,
remove your goggles first. After all, you
don~{!/~}t want pieces of glass shattering into
your eyeball. Surgical methods on the
battlefield seemed somewhat barbaric. Hmmmm...I~{!/~}m starting to like the idea of
getting the pistol.
The storylines that evolve are only given minimal treatment. Even the ground warfare is largely unexplored and any brutalities have been injected
with large doses of saccharine. But the aerial battles are fairly stirring. Watching these boys
fly, you start to grow an immediate appreciation
for their commitment and sacrifice. There are no seatbelts to hold you in when the plane rolls
upside down; there are no oxygen tanks to prevent hypoxia as pilots routinely ascend to 15,000
feet; and the airplane engines would just spit
out the oil so the pilot was covered in flammable liquids.
It~{!/~}s interesting at times. Yet, to be sure,
the end result won~{!/~}t provide the proud sense
of patriotism you~{!/~}ll get from film like ~{!0~}Flags of our Fathers~{!1~}. And, it~{!/~}s
not even the cotton-candy soap opera that was ~{!0~}Pearl Harbor~{!1~}. Will it be able to
find an audience and a happy ending? A better parallel question to ask is whether the hotshot fighter pilot will wind up with the cute French
girl in this war-torn country. If you know the
answer to this latter question, you~{!/~}ll have
your answer to the first one.
Grade: C+
S: 1 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 2 out of 3
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
