Saturday, November 7, 2009

Movie Review: Flyboys


I'm not sure how I let "Flyboys" pass me by for so long. This 2006 film, starring James Franco as Blaine Rawlings, tells the story of a group of Americans who went to fight for the French in World War I before the US joined the fray. The movie is loosely based on actual events...apparently very loosely if you believe wikipedia.

In the movie, Rawlings' family ranch is foreclosed on by the bank, so he goes to France to enlist as one of the first fighter pilots. Along with a group of other Americans, Rawlings flies several missions against the German fighter pilots, and eventually becomes a hero. Along the way, there is a love story subplot with a French woman, which breaks up the action nicely.

"Flyboys" got destroyed by the critics, but I liked it. I think it's a 4 star movie. The aerial dogfight scenes were outstanding. Some of the best aerial combat I've seen. The overall scenery was really well done. I'm not sure what the critics were watching...maybe it wasn't the same movie, or maybe I'm just not "sophisticated" enough. Anyway, I highly recommend "Flyboys."

1 comment:

BookWorm said...

Now I know this is not based on the book Flyboys by Bradley? The book got good reviews, and it's starts off in Des Moines. It's a really interesting true story. Check it out http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Flyboys/James-Bradley/e/9780316107280/?itm=1&usri=flyboys