Red Tails...total spoiler alert

[Gawen]

Red Tails is a story of the all Black Tuskegee airmen and 332 Fighter Group. It opened to day. The movie deals with one of the squadrons therein.

Total spoiler alert

I'll say the best for last.

First, nearly all the performances were lackluster and fairly impotent. Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr. gave the best.

There is a love interest in the movie; think Pearl Harbor, but not as involved.

Actually, in many ways, this movie could have been 2 1/2 Black Sheep Squadron episodes clipped together.

Producers took quite a bit of historical license. The Group flew P 40's, then P 39's, then P 47's and then P 51's. The movie omits the 39's and 47's. Historically, two planes (P 47's) found a German destroyer in Trieste Harbor and disabled with with only machine gun fire. The movie doesn't show this accurately at all.

Some of the totally serious junk in the movie:

A pilot and his plane are wounded. There's a big puddle of fuel on the cockpit floor and it's gushing through the sidewall into the cockpit. He flies back to the airfield, crashes his plane, it blows up. But the cockpit isn't on fire, he's rescued and lives, to be sent home.

Everything they shoot blows up! Everything! Even a German airfield tower blows up. Trucks, trains, airplanes...even the German destroyer.

The German squadron pilot is the typical scarred face, wild eyed 1960's comic book Nazi villain. I was rather disgusted of the portrayal.

BUT...

The CG was phenomenal. Some of the best I've ever seen. Most of the time I simply could not tell the CG from the real. Totally mind boggling. The aerial sequences live up to Lucasfilm expectations and mine as well, which is why I went to see the movie in the first place. Reconstruction of an Allied and German airfield and CG around that was exceptional. Uniforms, small arms vehicles were to date and I was impressed. So...

If you're into WWII fighter planes, I highly endorse the movie. Honestly, I've spent $7.00 on worse stuff.

I warned ya in the title and in the thread of spoiler alert. So don't be yellin' at me.

[McQ]

Much appreciated. I am having mixed feelings about going to see this. I had a terrible impression of it from its trailer. It just looked lame based on that alone. I read Roger Ebert's review and that didn't help improve my impression. And then there was George Lucas, going on and on about how amazing it looks and how freaking wonderful he is at making it look so cool. 

So it's good to read what you've written about it. Now I have a better appreciation for where it strays, so I can keep my expectations in check if I go see it. I want to like it, really. It only took half a century for these guys to get more than shitty recognition. They had the Nazis and their own military against them and they kicked ass royally.

I wish someone other than Lucas had produced it, but hey, the guy put up his own money to get it released, so I'll give him that credit.

[Gawen]

Much appreciated. I am having mixed feelings about going to see this. I had a terrible impression of it from its trailer. It just looked lame based on that alone. I read Roger Ebert's review and that didn't help improve my impression. And then there was George Lucas, going on and on about how amazing it looks and how freaking wonderful he is at making it look so cool. 

So it's good to read what you've written about it. Now I have a better appreciation for where it strays, so I can keep my expectations in check if I go see it. I want to like it, really. It only took half a century for these guys to get more than shitty recognition. They had the Nazis and their own military against them and they kicked ass royally.

I wish someone other than Lucas had produced it, but hey, the guy put up his own money to get it released, so I'll give him that credit.

Here's a few minor notes, good and bad...

I was impressed at the P 40's they showed (By this date they would have been P 40N but still, I didn't notice). The cockpit glass had scratches all over them. Paint on planes, inside and out (including the nose art) was gone in spots, patches here and there. The same with the P 51's. When they were new, they looked it. But as time went on, the scratches were back in the glass, etc. The attention to detail was impressive.

When the 109's showed up it was from left to right on the screen. The Squadron leader's plane is the famous yellow nose/tail paint scheme. I understand why the producers went this way, so viewers could identify the bad guy's plane. But it was historically inaccurate in at least two ways and I can easily overlook this fact. The plane was a 109G but what variant I couldn't tell you. I was too busy trying to take in everything all at once...*chucklin*. Other than that, the paint schemes on the 109's look accurate.

The 332 Group's history is short, but very interesting. I think this would have been a better miniseries over 8-10 hours. I understand why certain parts of the movie were out of sequence.

The cockpit scenes were much to quiet. Allison engines are extremely loud. And there should have been a lot of screaming air coming through bullet holes in the canopy glass.

The first (historically accurate) damaged enemy plane and the first kill 332 FG made were FW 190's. There were no FW 190's in the movie. You get a glimpse of a sweet looking Stuka at the German airbase, though.

The human element of this movie makes for a mediocre at best to a bad film at worst. But the CGI makes up for most of that. Honestly, if you want to see some truly superb dogfight scenes, spend the $7 at a matinee. It is a movie I won't go back to see, but I will own a DVD of it...if only to nitpick the crap out of it...*chucklin*

[McQ]

Much appreciated. I am having mixed feelings about going to see this. I had a terrible impression of it from its trailer. It just looked lame based on that alone. I read Roger Ebert's review and that didn't help improve my impression. And then there was George Lucas, going on and on about how amazing it looks and how freaking wonderful he is at making it look so cool. 

So it's good to read what you've written about it. Now I have a better appreciation for where it strays, so I can keep my expectations in check if I go see it. I want to like it, really. It only took half a century for these guys to get more than shitty recognition. They had the Nazis and their own military against them and they kicked ass royally.

I wish someone other than Lucas had produced it, but hey, the guy put up his own money to get it released, so I'll give him that credit.

Here's a few minor notes, good and bad...

I was impressed at the P 40's they showed (By this date they would have been P 40N but still, I didn't notice). The cockpit glass had scratches all over them. Paint on planes, inside and out (including the nose art) was gone in spots, patches here and there. The same with the P 51's. When they were new, they looked it. But as time went on, the scratches were back in the glass, etc. The attention to detail was impressive.

When the 109's showed up it was from left to right on the screen. The Squadron leader's plane is the famous yellow nose/tail paint scheme. I understand why the producers went this way, so viewers could identify the bad guy's plane. But it was historically inaccurate in at least two ways and I can easily overlook this fact. The plane was a 109G but what variant I couldn't tell you. I was too busy trying to take in everything all at once...*chucklin*. Other than that, the paint schemes on the 109's look accurate.

The 332 Group's history is short, but very interesting. I think this would have been a better miniseries over 8-10 hours. I understand why certain parts of the movie were out of sequence.

The cockpit scenes were much to quiet. Allison engines are extremely loud. And there should have been a lot of screaming air coming through bullet holes in the canopy glass.

The first (historically accurate) damaged enemy plane and the first kill 332 FG made were FW 190's. There were no FW 190's in the movie. You get a glimpse of a sweet looking Stuka at the German airbase, though.

The human element of this movie makes for a mediocre at best to a bad film at worst. But the CGI makes up for most of that. Honestly, if you want to see some truly superb dogfight scenes, spend the $7 at a matinee. It is a movie I won't go back to see, but I will own a DVD of it...if only to nitpick the crap out of it...*chucklin*

Perfect. Glad to know you're as nit picky when it comes to historical accuracy as me. As the son of a WWII Navy fighter pilot, and a former military aviator myself, it's impossible for me to not nitpick stuff. I'll give the movie folks lots of creative license, and still enjoy the flicks, but to a point. If it's grossly misrepresenting history, I'll throw a fit. Stuff like paint schemes I'll cut them slack on, but still make note of.

Funny thing, I just re-watched "Tora! Tora! Tora!" last night, and though it took some liberties with lots of things, I still love the movie overall. Maybe just sentimental.

[Gawen]

Tora! Tora! Tora! was actually a decent movie for the time. If it were remade today, things would be quite different, what with 40 years of uncovering more history and classified evidence no longer classified. Honestly, Q, go see Red Tails. I'd be very interested with your views on it.

As for historical accuracy, I can think of 4 movies (off the top of my head) that do it best.
Valkyrie: The only thing I didn't like about this movie was the lack of Stauffenberg's brother (Berthold), who figured prominently and lost his life for his involvement.

Das Boot: Probably the best war/anti war movie yet.

Cross of Iron: A 1977 Germans (pov) on the Russian front movie. Campy, yet historical.

And not war related, Public Enemy was pretty well historical.

[Asmodean]

Das Boot: Probably the best war/anti war movie yet.

Are you talking about the original mini-series? If so, in what way is it anti-war?

EDIT: Ooh! Ooh! The Asmo, he can play this right there:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snnwjoToN-8

Learned the original after learning this here techno remix:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2vqjh_u96-das-boot-2001_music

[Gawen]

Das Boot: Probably the best war/anti war movie yet.

Are you talking about the original mini-series? If so, in what way is it anti-war?

EDIT: Ooh! Ooh! The Asmo, he can play this right there:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snnwjoToN-8

Learned the original after learning this here techno remix:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2vqjh_u96-das-boot-2001_music

No, talking about the theatrical version:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082096/fullcredits

Es gibt nicht viele "Kriegsfilme" die so authentisch sind, wie dieser...

I even like the soundtrack.

[fester30]

Dagnabbit.  What is it about spoiler alert that makes me unable to resist reading something?  It's like the parents telling me not to open their closet door a week before Christmas.