This was another film that I had a vague interest in seeing when it played in theaters earlier this year, but procrastination prevented me from actually going out to the cinema. Red Tails is loosely based upon the real life WWII 332nd fighter group, better known as the Tuskegee Airmen. It was a fighter squadron comprised of African-American pilots at a time when the U.S. Armed services still suffered from racist segregation of black and white personnel.
Because the film is inspired by the real history and not based upon it, the filmmakers and writers have taken liberties in telling their story. Sadly, they did not take enough, and the film while enjoyable missed at being a truly great movie.
The cast is wonderful and I found the characters thoroughly engaging and likable. The problem with this movie is that, like many movies dealing with an ensemble, is that is lacks focus. There is no particular person whose story we are experience, as such we tend to hop from storyline to storyline, often with nothing more than the fact these men serve together to connect these desperate plot elements.
All of the following is part of the story line of Red Tails:
1) a leader struggling with a drinking problem.
2) a hotshot pilot who doesn’t follow the rules
3) a C.O. trying to get the respect for his unit while fighting racism.
4) a young officer fighting to be taken seriously
5) a POW escape attempt
6) a pilot falling in love with a local woman
7) a talented and dedicated enemy pilot that dogs their missions.
Of course people can argue that with an ensemble cast, you’re going to get a lot of storylines, the problem here is that the plotlines don’t reinforce a central spine. It’s like a poorly run role playing game, witch different players chasing down conflicting goals. What would have saved the script was if the writers had treated the 332nd as a single character, with objectives, obstacles, and its own try and fail cycle, then use the individual characters to advance or obstruct the 332nd’s story arc.
On the plus side, thanks to digital effects, this film has some of the best aerial combat scenes every filmed. George Lucas was an executive producer and in the special effects and their editing it shows the talent the man still possesses. Even at home on my Tv screen I got emotional involved in the combat and pumped my fist at allied victories. With a little script work this could have been a real kick ass movie, as it is, my final rating is that it’s okay. Get it through Netflix, it’s worth at least one viewing at home.