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Movie Review - Flyboys (2006)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
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| Starring: |
James Franco, Philip Winchester, Abdul Salis, Tyler Labine, David Ellison, Jean Reno, and Jennifer
Decker |
| Rated: |
PG-13 (for war action violence and some sexual content) |
| Length: |
139 minutes |
| Genre: |
Action/Adventure/Drama/War |
| Tagline: |
None |
| Studio: |
MGM |
| Website: |
Flyboys |
| Release: |
September 22, 2006 |
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PLOT
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Flyboys mixes a little fact with its fiction and presents the adventures of the Lafayette Escadrille. The
Escadrille was comprised of 38 young Americans who volunteered for the French military before the U.S. entered
World War I. They became the country's first fighter pilots. Impressive aerial action ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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Hey Johnny! You saw Flyboys, right? May I ask a couple of questions?
Yeah, but make it snappy. I've got a life to get back to, and I ain't exactly gettin' paid for this.
You all right? You seem a little testy.
Yeah, sorry. I was just listening to Ray LaMontagne's Jolene. Great song, but man, it'll make you slit
your wrists if you're not in the right mood. Please, continue.
So this is based on a true story?
Pretty much. There's only one real name used in the movie (Jean Reno's Capt. Georges Thenault), but the rest of
the characters are composites of real-life WWI pilots. Beware of "Internet geniuses" (AKA "keyboard warriors")
trying to show off their unjustified self-supposed wisdom by complaining that they don't think there were black
fighter pilots in WWI.
If they'd bothered to do about two minutes of research then they would have learned that the character of
Eugene Skinner (Abdul Salis) is probably the most complete parallel to a historical character. Skinner's real-life
counterpart, Eugene Bullard, fled to Scotland, worked as a boxer in Europe, joined the Lafayette Escadrille, and
became history's first black fighter pilot. Take THAT, Mr. Type-First-Ask-Questions-Later!
So while names may have been changed (for what reason, I don't know), the filmmakers maintain that the majority of
the movie (approximately 90% if you believe the press notes) is based on real characters and actual events.
How's the movie?
I really enjoyed it. Sure, it's somewhat predictable, it enlists the help of tried and true clichés, there's not
much depth beyond the story's surface, and there's an obligatory romance that guys will have to tolerate, but
the film knows not to linger too long and is always quick to jump back to the fantastic action.
If you want a comparison then think of it this way - Titanic is a romance with ship-sinking action thrown
into the mix, whereas Flyboys is an action film with a little romance thrown in. I prefer the latter.
You liked this more than Titanic?
Yep. Of course, a lot of that has to do with the fact that Leonardo DiCaprio's overly round, perennially
prepubescent face disturbs me, but I digress. The aerial cinematography and dogfights are so impressive that if
you have any interest in seeing the movie at all then it definitely should be seen on the big screen. The Zeppelin
scene especially can't be done justice on a paltry home entertainment system. I'm telling you, you won't be able
to distinguish between what's real and what's CGI.
I also liked most of the characters and the inherent humor that results from their interactions. James Franco is
on the cusp of becoming a major star.
Who's cuter - James Franco or his French co-star Jennifer Decker?
That's a tough one. After all, Franco's got an award-winning smile. Oops, I mean Jennifer Decker.
How does this compare with other war movies?
To be honest, I wouldn't classify this as a "war movie" in the Saving Private Ryan or Black Hawk Down
sense of the phrase. Rather than preach one way or the other about atrocities or necessities of war, Flyboys
simply sets out to give us a brief glimpse at a forgotten group of heroes from a war that Hollywood has neglected
for the past 40 years, all while entertaining audiences with a unique look at the aerial combat that military and
aviation historians have come to call "the last gentleman's war."
If you want a more in-depth historical study regarding the events portrayed in the film then I'm sure there's a
documentary or two out there. If you're just in the mood to watch lots of cool stuff go boom then Flyboys
is the best the Fall has to offer. There aren't many "action" films that are safe for family consumption, but
this one passes with *wait for it* flying colors!
*ahem*
I apologize for that.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- If you're interested in the history behind the film and the events it portrays then just read on.
- It's been more than 75 years since any major film has portrayed the Lafayette Escadrille. Wings
was the first film to do so and won the first Academy Award® for Best Picture in 1929. It played for two
years.
- The television show Wings, starring Steven Weber, Tim Daly, the foreign dude from Monk, and
Thomas Haden Church, had nothing to do with the Lafayette Escadrille. It ran for eight seasons.
- Director Tony Bill is a licensed aerobatic pilot and World War I buff with one of the world’s largest private
collections of books on the subject.
- As aerial tactics developed, this new combat became reminiscent of medieval military tournaments, with
one-on-one dogfights between pilots, resembling warriors on horseback; soon they were called "Knights of
the Air."
- Filmmakers discovered that often veteran fighter pilots would not even speak to the new pilots until they
had been there for a month or so. "There was just the assumption they'd be dead, so why get to know somebody
who's not going to be around?" says producer Dean Devlin. "They were hesitant to make friends because it was so
painful to lose them."
- Johnny used that same excuse during his high school years when his mother asked him why he didn't try to make
more friends. Johnny would later come to find out that "expand your horizons" was mother code for "find some
friends that have better things to do than tempt you to drag race at two in the morning."
- James Franco studied for his pilot's license prior to filming. "I flew every day and trained for months in
advance to get my license," he says. "So now I'm a legal pilot, and that helped a great deal. A big part of the
story in this film is about the training and getting used to airplanes and I had that very experience in life."
- To prepare for their roles cast members took a series of aviation classes to familiarize themselves with the
aircraft and equipment.
- To prepare for this review, Johnny considered taking aviation classes, but then he realized that would just
be ridiculous.
- Some of you may be wondering what the deal was with the dude from Torque having
a pet lion in the movie. Welp, during their early days, the Escadrille actually had two lions as mascots - Whiskey
and Soda.
- Johnny notes the irony of the two names considering that was his Uncle Larry's breakfast for a good 20 years
before family concerns and a malfunctioning liver forced him to get the help he so desperately needed.
- The Lafayette Escadrille pilots ranged in age between 18 and 30.
- "One of the things that filmmakers could never really do in any movies that dealt with early aerial combat
was to have the airplanes fly as close as they really did," says Devlin. "Almost as many pilots in World War I
were killed by collision as by bullets, and that kind of close proximity we haven't been able to show in films
before, because to film it would be too dangerous. Now, with digital technology we can do it. We can do the moves
the pilots did. We can show how close they got to each other. We can make you feel like you're really in those
battles."
- The filmmakers used 7 French Nieuport 17's, a 1909 Bleriot, 2 Fokker DR1’s, an SE-5, a Sopwith 1½ Strutter and a
Bristol Fighter, each of which were in use at different points of the war.
- Hopefully those names mean something to any of you plane enthusiasts out there. As for me, that might as well
all be in French.
- "The attention to detail, the research, the level of authenticity on this film is very high," says Devlin.
"We had a mandate that we wouldn't build it unless we could find photographs of it from that time. So every
prop, everything out on the airfield, matches exactly something from World War I."
- Budget ~ $60 million
- During the 4 years of the war, the number of aircraft built by the combined forces of Germany, France and
England was over 150,000.
- James Franco was in City by the Sea with William Forsythe who was in Coastlines with Josh Brolin
who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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There's one G-d**n, but nothing else that you can't see on Network TV. There's a little blood and a few
explosions, but this is definitely safe for those 10 and above.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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What you see is pretty much what you get.
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THE GIST
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If you're in the mood for some really cool aerial action sequences and you can tolerate the less-than-inspired (from
a male's standpoint) romance subplot then Flyboys is worth at least a matinee.
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