Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Lucasfilm, Partnership Pictures,

Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Ne-Yo, Elijah Kelley, Bryan Cranston, Tristan Wilds, Lee Tergesen, Method Man, Andre Royo

Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding star in this biographical documentary about the famous WWII Tuskeegee Airmen, part of the 332nd Fighter Group, and all black World War II unit that were the best escort pilots in the service of their country. Known as Red Tails, they fought the Nazis in Europe while they fought racism at home. This true story covers the fight they had to gain respect in a time when black men really didn’t get to be a part of the real military, but were assigned to less significant roles. These brave heroes fought the for the right to fight like the real ace pilots they were.

This is not a perfect movie by any means. If you want to pick it apart you surely can find lots of things to complain about. Cliche ridden, with a very mediocre score, and with some really corny scenes, it’s not overly exciting. I think if they really failed on this script it was because they are trying too hard to tell a story that needs to be told. This is a lot like the old documentaries we used to see and not like the big budget WWII fighting ace films that came along a lot later. I think the actors gave it a commendable try, but the script wasn’t quite crisp or fresh enough to make this a great little film. But it was, as I said, probably a story that needed to be told. The feeling I got was similar to the religious broadcasting that they used to put on TV in Sunday Mornings in the 50’s and 60’s. It was a requirement to keep their license for the stations to broadcast so many public service hours every week, and the relegated these to Sunday morning and very late at night (think “Sermonette”). They did it because they had to, and it was a good thing to do, but they didn’t really put their heart and soul into it. It was sort of just done in order to get it out of the way. That’s how this film felt to me. I think it’s well worth the time watching it as a rental, but it won’t be really exciting unless you are really a WWII buff and already know the story. Still, I’m glad I saw it, and it was worth the effort. I give it a lukewarm recommendation at best.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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