flyboys

Modern cinema has all but forgotten World War I. The second world war has all but eclipsed it in
the popular consciousness and, let’s face it, history isn’t studied with relish anymore by the greater
public. World War I is fading about as fast as the veterans that fought it.

I was stunned when I found out that Dean Devlin, half the creative mind behind the dismal
“Independence Day” and “Godzilla” was helping bring the project to the screen. Damn. I have to
thank Dean Devlin for something.

“Flyboys” is the story of the American pilots who went to France to fight with the French Air Force
during World War I. They were from diverse backgrounds and were all thrill seekers. While the
characters themselves are more like vestiges of historic figures and not the actual historic
personalities themselves, “Flyboys” does stay fairly true to the atmosphere and events surrounding
World War I aviation, thanks to a heaping of digital special effects.

The movie isn’t perfect and has a few narrative conventions that many today would find cheesy, but
it skirts most of these pretty well. James Franco and the rest of the cast play their parts with
twinkles in their eyes. It’s obvious they’re having fun playing dashing aviators and that’s not a bad
thing.

Despite what many watching this film will think, much of the flying depicted in the film is accurate to
incidents that occurred during the war. Read a book.

What I enjoyed most about this film was the constant and varied action well balanced with character
moments. The writing isn’t always the best but it’s never terrible and each pilot is for the most part
distinctly defined. They aren’t impossible to tell apart behind the goggles.

The Black Falcon German pilot is probably the most over the top character, a hyped-up version of
the infamous Red Baron of actual history. However, the final battle is worth the price of admission
complete with zeppelins and scores of biplanes shredding each other out of the sky in an effort akin
to Howard Hughes’ famous aviation epic, “Hell’s Angels.”

I think what I appreciate about this movie the most has more to do with the bravery of the
filmmakers to tackle World War I subject matter and really invest in it versus more of the standard,
crappy modern fare out there today. This movie, though under-advertised and under-appreciated
dared to be different and teach the audience something really cool.