Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Truly truly dreadful........., 2 Jul 2007
After just 5 minutes of this film, my heart sank; the war-bound pilot saying goodbye to his girl as the train pulls out the smoke-filled station- she's not going to run after the train, is she??...she does....cliche number one in Hollywood war epics!!.
The snese complete and utter amateurism never seems to then let up in this picture, and has to be based on the premise that the average film-goer is ignorant enough to sit in front of embarrassingly dreadful cliched 'mock-history' with their mouths agape in admiration at the supposed 'true' story of wartime derring-do.
The ground scenes proved maginally more interesting than the aerial footage, which pretty much damns an air combat film.
The historical accuracy of the film was simply dreadful, and follows those great 'based on a true story' epics of 'U-571' and 'Pearl Harbour', the gaffs and skewed inaccuracies far too many to mention here (I got to 45 in the first 30 minutes and stopped counting!)
The inevitable red Fokker triplanes were laughable, ( except for the baddy , who -surprise- had a nice black one!!) solidly compounded by the facial expressions of the German aces. (I expected Snoopy to show up any second?). At one point two pilots flew side-by-side and one shouted 'Go for the Zeppelin!!' ...laugably stupid. Indeed a number of scenes in this film would have been well served in a decent spoof movie of a 'Hot Shots' or 'Police Squad' vein.
Screen play wise there was so much more the makers could have explored; what drove neutral US citizens to travel half way round the globe to fight in a war that wasn't theirs ( at the time), the class conflicts between the pilots, and the race overtones associated with the presence of a black pilot (ironically the one factual part of the film.)
I suspect the writers had no interest giving an accurate portrayal of anything here, bar knocking out a 'shoot 'em up' movie prior to the lucrative Playstation game and mechandise coming out.
Even the special effects seemed half baked -did anyone on the film have even a basic knowledge of aerodynamics?
I suggest anyone with a perchance for a decent WW1 air-war yarn sticks to their DVD's of 'The Blue Max' and 'Aces High' and leaves this drivel to crash in flames!
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Average Film, 30 May 2007
Confused about its target audience and not particularly entertaining nor poignant enough to sufficiently satisfy any demographic, "Flyboys" is a middle-of-the-road picture. It feels nostalgic yet features actors more well-known to younger audiences that ultimately discounts much of the interest old History-channel enthusiasts might originally have for it. In pursuiting a lower age certificate "Flyboys" has also removed the relevance and immense dangers of the war, subtracting the blood, tragedy and barbaric fighting from the experience, making the movie seem more like a shallow attempt to earn aprofit than any critical acclaim. So, will it succeed in said profit-making? Not if word of mouth spreads.
"Flyboys" focuses upon the adventures and experiences of the Lafayette Escadrille, volunteer American pilots who joined the French military before the US entered World War I. Receiving the most attention is Blaine Rawlings (James Franco), a man dedicated to helping defeat the opposition no matter what the cost but whose love for a beautiful french woman named Lucienne (Jennifer Decker) divides is attention and causes him to make dangerous decisions even as the war rages on. So "Flyboys" is half war drama and half love story, about a man and woman trying to communicate their mutual feelings for each other despite a language barrier.
James Franco doesn't have much range as an actor. Luckily his part is pretty much perfect for his somewhat questionable talents. Not asking much of him but a similar facial expression throughout, "Flyboys"'s scripting could perhaps be called into question with not testing any of its acting talent with poorly-written characters. As Rawlings' love interest, Lucienne, Jennifer Decker is beautiful and charismatic, even if understanding her is a difficulty for the main character along with audience members. One of the more interesting character stories early in proceedings is that of Eugene Skinner. Played by Abdul Salis with passion and dimension, his black character trying to find equal footing in what was still a very racist world is fascinating to watch. Shamefully, that story takes a back seat from the forty-five-minute mark. All the other pilot characters are well-acted, but don't particularly warrant mention as their stories are never interesting.
"Flyboys" packs its lengthy running time full of character development and numerous air-fights. So the lengthy 140-minute totality of the motion picture never seems too long nor does it ever become boring. What comes between the beginning and the end isn't particularly entertaining however. Throughout, the movie's various plot elements remain unexplored and over-saturated. In pursuit of a lower rating the producers have steered themselves away from the harsh realities of war and made their character's stories suffer as a resultant factor. Were the powers-that-be braver in the film's execution than not only would it have been met better in its native US, but it could well have been one of the most original war movies for years.
"Flyboys" is ultimately an average motion picture. There's little inspiring nor much content of particular poignance. The acting is mostly good and the conventional plot can be forgiven. Were it more daring and more exciting within, "Flyboys" could have been a pretty good motion picture. Shame.
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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Flyboys, 1 Jul 2007
I eagerly anticipated the release of this movie, but must say that after watching it, I was a little disapointed.
I'm not saying that it isn't a rip-roaring adventure movie, because it is quite good and the special effects are excellent.
I'd describe it as a big bit of "Hell's Angels" with a touch of "Tuskegee Airmen".
The "Flyboys" scenes of the bombing of the German ammunition dump and the attack on the Zepplin are lifted straight from "Hell's Angels! Shame on you!
Technically, it is quite accurate, although some of the gaffs would only be noticed by a sad Great War buff like me (i.e., they wear the wrong Sam Browne's and I'm sure La Fayette Escadrille planes did not have top wing mounted Lewis guns.)
If you have not seen the restored DVD of "Hell's Angel", buy this and I'm sure you will enjoy it, but "Hell's Angels" is better.
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