Just saw "Red Tails" last night. Since I've seen Tuskeegee Airmen a number of times, I went with just my 'filmmaker' hat on and prepared to watch it with a director's eyes.
Up front, I'll say it was entertaining and easily stands with any number of WWII films you could name. It was also nice to see black faces not involved with the usual 'gangsta 'n ho' thing for a change.
So here's the review:
Without giving the story away, Red Tails starts in as the 331st Fighter Group (Tuskeegee Airmen) are stuck doing air patrols far behind the lines where little or no enemy activity occurs. Despite their training and readiness, the Airmen do little more than take out insignificant ground targets ranging from the unfortunate German motorcycle w/sidecar to the occasional train. The conflict begins with Flight Leader 'Easy' having to contend with his hotshot wingman 'Lightning'. His over-aggressive tactics and disregard for orders are a constant source of trouble in the air and on the ground for Easy who already has a handful with a diverse group of young pilots.
The other conflict is the one faced by Colonel Bullard played by Terence Howard and his struggle to have the 331st utilized as a credible war asset amidst firm resistance from high ranking white officers in the Pentagon. Colonel Bullard is pleasantly and intellectually defiant in the face of his detractors as he presents the facts of how well his men have been doing despite being held back.
The Airmen's chance to prove themselves comes as fighter escorts manned by white pilots are constantly drawn away from their assigned bombers by decoy German Fighters. This leaves the B-17 bombers and their crews vulnerable to the real force of German Fighters and their losses are appalling. Assigned to bomber escort duty, the 331st christened 'Red Tails' because of their aircraft tail paint, change tactics and don't fall for decoy fighters. By staying with the bombers, they offer stiff resistance to the German assaults and the Bomber losses plummet.
In the meantime, there are little moments where the Airmen face everyday life on the ground on base and in the town of Rametelli, Italy. A romance occurs between Lighting and a local Italian girl which is cute because he can't speak Italian and she can't speak English. There are other moments which show bits of how the pilots and ground crew interact along with Easy wrestling with a drinking problem.
It is after the Red Tails are assigned to full time bomber escort the story takes off. There are some fine aerial combat sequences and even the introduction of a skilled German Ace who rivals Lighting. During the battles we watch as members of the squadron become skilled and succumb to enemy fire. There's even an homage to the 'Great Escape' as one of the downed Airmen must contend with life in a German POW camp.
Overall, Red Tails is an entertaining film but despite the great photography and excellent combat sequences, I found it a bit flat. The acting was fine but I found the pacing of the story lagging where it seemed it shouldn't. There was also too much going on. It was like they were trying to tell an epic story in the standard 80-120 minute time-frame. I firmly believe this should have been done as a mini-series like "Band of Brothers" and "The Pacific". The setting, characters and situations begged for further development, but just didn't get it. Hopefully, the film will be successful and maybe Lucas can tap Hanks and Spielburg to put their WWII epic mini-series making machine on the Red Tails and give them the full treatment they deserve.
In a nutshell, Red Tails is a good flick. Take the kids while you're at it.
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