Flyboys (2006)

World War I aviation action gets an impressive digital upgrade in Flyboys, a welcome addition to the "dogfight" sub-genre that includes such previous war-in-the-air films like Hell's Angels, Wings, and The Blue Max. While those earlier films had the advantage of real and genuinely dangerous flight scenes (resulting, in some cases, in fatal accidents during production), Flyboys takes full (and safe) advantage of the digital revolution, with intensely photo-realistic recreations of WWI aircraft, authentic period structures, and CGI environments requiring a total of 850 digital effects shots, resulting in an abundance of amazing images, many of them virtually indistinguishable from reality. Unfortunately, the film's technical achievement is more impressive than its screenplay, which conventionally and predictably tells the fact-based story, set in France in 1916, of the daring young pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille, a pioneering French air-combat unit that welcomed American enlistees prior to the United States' entry into the war.

There's a familiar cliché to match every thrilling scene of aerial combat, but director Tony Bill manages to keep it all interesting, from the romance between a young American maverick (James Franco) and a pretty French girl (newcomer Jennifer Decker) to the exciting action in the air, which includes a stock variety of heroes (many of them composites of real-life WWI pilots) and an intimidating villain known only as "The Black Falcon," whose Fokker Dr-1 triplane (one of many in the film) recalls the exploits of German "ace of aces" Manfred von Richtofen, the dreaded "Red Baron" of legend. With impeccable production values that will impress even the most nit-picking aviation buffs, Flyboys (like Superman Returns and Apocalypto, also released in 2006) was also one of the first feature films to be shot with Panavision's state-of-the-art Genesis digital cameras, resulting in beautiful images that meet or exceed the visual nuance of film. Flyboys also benefits from painstaking attention to physical detail, making it easier to forgive its shortcomings as a generic and formulaic slice of romanticized history. So while some viewers may have wished for a more realistic and grown-up depiction of the Lafayette Escadrille, it's safe to say that Flyboys will be thrilling its target audience for many years to come. --Jeff Shannon

Amazon.com

Well Done Aerial Combat Sequences, Little Else

This is one of those films where more emphasis was placed on the aerial dogfight sequences -- little or no thought went into the plot or acting.

What a lame excuse for a movie. My biggest complaint of this movie is that it's so cliche you could cut it with a knife. The role of Texan Blaine Rawlings, who flits off at a moments notice to be with his new love, is beyond belief or plausability. The rest of the acting ensemble, other than Capt. Thenault (Jean Reno), were window dressing in this piece of movie dribble. And the dreaded German Ace was hardly more than a voyeur who wanted to savor his victory by the sight of his victim's face before they died.

Lame plot, poor acting, dubious historical accuracy, wrapped around some nice dogfight sequences. What a shame, as I had hoped for better than this.

Don't buy this turkey. Save your money and get "Dogfight" -- more accurate, exciting, and historically true. January 1, 2009

Visually Stunning

I loved the Movie, it has everyting Great direction, Stunning visuals, Good looking cast, Great locations, Superb arieal fight scenes, Awesome Blu Ray picture & sound quality..Other than some great action, it covers Romance, Friendships & some more..pssst now thats for you to watch & find out!!
November 25, 2008

Unoriginal Low Budget Film

How can I sum up this movie: Low budget CGI, terrible acting, terrible lines, Cliché storyline, mediocre action, cheesy revolting love story, and untrue to life. I would have to say the best actor in the movie probably was the lion. Yes, there is a lion in a WWI movie, can you believe it?

I found the dramatic dog fighting scenes actually quite comical. Once you realize the planes are CGI, the dogfights are almost as enjoyable as watching a PS3 game. The true horror of the film is watching the star of the show (Spiderman's best friend) try to woo a retarded French girl that likes to visit a local brothel for recreation. I had to vomit several times during their less than bearable dialogue. In one part of the movie, the leading character flies to her house to give her a joy ride in his plane. Yeah, I'm sure that happened all the time during a little war like WWI. Also, I swear the movie's soundtrack was used in about every other major blockbuster movie of the past, in an attempt to make the movie seem of a higher quality. I was actually relieved when the scratched blu-ray I rented locked up during the ending of the movie, so I wouldn't have to sit through much more of this pathetic excuse for a war movie.

Questions to ask:
Why was a French girl bandaging up injured war pilots in a brothel?
How does a guy land a plane 100 yards next to his girlfriend's house with German guards all around without anyone noticing?
How come they give a guy a medal rather than shooting him on site for stealing a squadron plane to save his retarded girlfriend?
How do you chop off someone's hand with a dull field shovel?
How is it that new pilots are suddenly artistic enough to paint professional looking logos on their planes?
How can you shout commands at each other over the plane engines and wind noise during a dogfight?
Why would you stand and wave your arms in open enemy territory after being shot down during a dogfight?
Why would you do a solo suicide mission against a dozen nazi fighters, so you could revenge your friends?
How do you do -3 G jet fighter maneuvers in a 65 Horsepower WWI plane?
What was Bubba Gump's little brother doing in this movie?
Why was there a pet lion used in a WWI movie?





November 23, 2008

Should been better

Nice actions, but if you looking for a more authentic WWI aerial combat drama try "Der Rote Baron" instead. October 28, 2008

Up there with pearl harborGreat movie

Great movie. Better love story than pearl harbor. Blu-Ray is the way to go. Great action with Great acting makes this movie worth watching again and again. October 6, 2008

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