Flyboys

Starring: James Franco, Scott Hazell, Jean Reno, Martin Henderson, Jennifer Decker
Directed by: Tony Bill
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, War
2006

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: During World War I, a squadron of Americans travel to France to learn to be airplane pilots to battle the Germans in the skies.

Review:
Tim: I loved this movie. Flyboys is exactly the type of guilty-pleasure movie that I can't help but loving. It is action-packed, exciting, and has the requisite number of explosions to keep me on the edge of my seat. Yes, there are far too many cliches and choppy dialogue, but it makes up for its faults by having the most impressive dogfight scenes ever filmed.

If you enjoy watching planes do battle in the air, then you should be impressed with this film. The dogfighting subgenre has some terrific films (1927's Wings, for example), but those movies all used real aviation footage of actual planes involved in those maneuvers. This movie takes advantage of terrific special effects to give us the most exciting, breathtaking aviation battles, perhaps ever committed to film. The details are fantastic as we watch plane after plane diving, rolling, shooting, and swerving as we've never seen before. I was mesmerized by these scenes. This is the film's greatest strength, and action lovers should be pleased by these fantastic scenes.

The cast isn't too bad, either. I am increasingly enjoying James Franco's career, as he proves over and over again that he is a very good actor. He makes for a good leading man here, and a believable WWI pilot. He doesn't give a terrific performance here, but it is more than serviceable. I loved the casting of Martin Henderson. He is always enjoyable, and I really liked him as the grizzled veteran here. I also was glad to see Jean Reno in the film- he always, always makes movies better with his presence, and he adds a good but smaller supporting role here. Newcomer Jennifer Decker adds in a good performance as well.

As I mentioned, this isn't a flawless movie. There are way, way too many tired cliches and recycling of events from similar films for its own good. A few of these constitute cringe-worthy moments, which are unfortunate. As I previously mentioned, the dialogue isn't exactly fantastic, either. However, this is a movie geared toward people looking for high-flying action, exciting explosions, and the requisite love story thrown in as well. As a whole, Flyboys is exactly what it sets out to be. For that reason, I truly loved this movie.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Independence Day, Stargate, Pearl Harbor