Flyboys

In 1916, a group of young American volunteers join the French Air Force under the command of Captain Georges Thenault (Jean Reno) to fight the Germans in World War I. They are trained by the veteran pilot Reed Cassidy (Martin Henderson), who lost all his pals, and after a couple of missions, the survivors become the respected Lafayette Escadrille. Meanwhile the Texan fighter pilot Blaine Rawlings (James Franco) meets the gorgeous French Lucienne (Jennifer Decker) and despite the difference of languages and culture, they fall in love with each other. Who will survive the war?

"Flyboys" is an entertaining war adventure with a pleasant romance, in the same style of William A. Wellman's masterpiece "Wings" (1927). The characters are well developed in the concise subplots and the performances are great. The battle scenes are well made as well the special effects. And the beautiful Jennifer Decker is an adorable woman and steals the show. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Flyboys"

Very Entertaining. I will recommend it. Attention to detail was very factual, such as filing the bullets so they wouldn't jam and the Spandaus having to be hand cocked. Drideckers, the three winged Fokkers; did not enter the war until the very end. There were also two lions; Whisky and Soda, who were later banned to the stables because they kept peeing all over the château. The characters were very well done and told a good story. I hope it makes people look up the fliers and read about them. There were quite a few men that made up the Esquidrille and all were very interesting. When fact becomes legend print the legend.

When I first saw the previews and read the synopsis, I was expecting a horrible film like Pearl Harbor. Fighter pilots in love with a girl. Happily the love story is not sappy or sickening and actually helps create character development. And how the love story ends is a very nice non-Hollywood ending.

The Planes look magnificent, but could have been done better. The use of German Dr1's (the Fokker Triplanes) as the only German fighter is understandable as distinguishing friend from foe. However, making all of the Dr1's (except for the main villains ) solid red is extremely annoying. While it is up to some discussion if the Red Baron's Dr1 was all red or mostly red, it does not mean that all Dr1's were red, especially all red. The Dr1's came from the Fokker factory usually in an olive drab paint scheme with a light blue underside. The film makers could have added a red scheme to the planes but left a portion olive drab and blue underside, it still would have made the Germans distinctive without being clones of Manfred von Rictoffen.

The dogfights are fun to watch and are fairly exciting, however the planes fly highly unrealistically at times. Overall the CGI is excellent but at times it is noticeable as CGI. The planes that explode (Explosions are such a Hollywood staple :) ) are unrealistic. The planes are traveling 70 t0 100 miles per hour in reality, but the explosions react as if the plane is standing still, going up in a ball instead of being spread along the doomed plane's path.

Over all it was fun to watch and covers a historical period that has long been neglected in film.

This is the story of American volunteers who fought for the French during World War I before America entered the war. It is based on a true story, and largely faithful to that story. The first world war was the first "ugly" war. It is the first war where, as one of the characters observes, "Neither side will win. It will just end." And, this movie does not shrink away from showing the horror, the ugliness, and the overwhelming grimness of war.

Because the special effects made it possible, more than any movie in recent memory, it graphically shows the excitement and the adrenaline rush of combat flying. The combat sequences are nothing short of dazzling; they were so good I could experience vicariously the rush of bullets tearing through cloth fuselages, the spins and turns, and dips and climbs, and barrel rolls, and dives, and with all that, I could look inside myself and know I did not have the courage to do what they did. In the end, that's what this story is about, and the love story, the individual pilot lives fade into the background.

Still, it's worth noting, one of the movie's best moments is the denouement where we learn what happened to the Americans of the Lafayette Escadrille, those who survived. I won't spoil it for you, just know that truth is stranger than fiction, and often a good deal sadder. I enjoyed Flyboys for what it was: the chance to vicariously experience the adrenaline rush of aerial combat. Performances were good, and Jean Reno was great as the captain of the Lafayette Escadrille. Nice popcorn flick.

I really enjoyed the movie. You didn't have to think much about it, it was what it was. Apparently there are some close ties to the true story but it never seemed an issue of trying to portray something too realistic. I am not a huge Franco fan, in fact his poutiness wears on you in most films but he seems to do a really good job of mixing it up, meaning he smiles in this one. I saw a pre-release screening and everyone that I spoke to agreed that it was a good movie. The special effects were really good, the airplanes seemed very realistic for the most part. The close ups seemed a little fake but the tactics seemed really good. I found a bit of cheesiness in the dialog at times but managed to not pay too much attention too it. It wasn't deep but kept you interested the whole time. Don't get me wrong, it was no Saving Private Ryan but it had enough action and drama to keep you interested. They even threw a bit of humor in to keep you loose in your seat. I would recommend it to anyone, just don't expect to walk away a changed person for having seen it. It was a fun movie with some good historical point.