James Franco

David Ellison

Jean Reno

Philip Winchester

Todd Boyce

Mac McDonald

Abdul Salis

Karen Ford

Scott Hazell

Ruth Bradley

Tim Pigott-Smith

Tyler Labine

Gail Downey

Augustin Legrand

Keith McErlean

Jennifer Decker

Lex Shrapnel

Martin Henderson

Kate Robbins

Jean-Philippe Écoffey

Phil Sears

Trevor Rabin

Blake T. Evans

Henry Braham

James Clayton

David S. Ward

Phillip Goldfarb

Duncan Reid

Dean Devlin

Chris Blunden

Marc Frydman

Ron Rosen

David Brown

Tony Bill

Nic Ede

John Hubbard

Ros Hubbard

Dan Hubbard

Brian Eyre

Clare Tinsley

Dave Rand

Mark Franco

Ellen Walder

Stefan Henrix

Richard Diver

Steve Street

Sally Ross

Larry Randall

Simon Neville

Peter Chiang

Laura McIntosh

Steve Cummings

Ian Foster

John Handler

Alex Wuttke

Andy Kennedy

Patrice Iva

Aysha Madina

Laura Miles

Fay McConkey

Matthew Gray

Graham Hall

Gary L. Camp

Stewart Ash

Michael Price

Gilly Martin

Nick Jeffries

Margaret Yen

Jon Olive

Steve Dent

Jay Maidment

Billy A. Campbell

Lorna McGowan

Charles Wood

Jon Baker

Sally Jones

Rick Leary

Rupert Porter

Peter Afterman

Jack Stew

Graham Johnston

Tania Clarke

Philip Elton

Mattias Lindahl

Jed Loughran

Paul Swinburne

Eliza Solesbury

Matt Biffa

Carmel Jackson

Charlie Noble

Mark Paterson

Iain Eyre

Dominic Gibbs

Mike Prestwood Smith

James Lewis

Nicholas Symons

John Lockwood

David Evans

Matthew Sharp

Michele Tandy

Ray Chan

Rowley Irlam

Action

Adventure

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History

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Flyboys

Electric Entertainment

Skydance Media

Ingenious Media

United Kingdom

United States of America

English

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***Americans volunteers become fighter pilots in France during WW1***  

Before the USA enters WW1, a young Texas cowboy (James Franco) joins the Lafayette Escadrille in France, a squadron of American fighter pilots. The volunteers are trained and soon experience the glory, anxieties and horrors that go with air combat.  

“Flyboys" (2006) was inspired by real events and comes in the tradition of similar WW1 aviation flicks “The Blue Max” (1966) and “Aces High" (1976). Whilst not great like the exceptional “Blue Max,” the blockbuster-ish “Flyboys” is more compelling than the mundane “Aces High,” albeit a little marred by comic book storytelling (think “Legends of the Fall”). It’s also significantly superior to the curiously unabsorbing “The Red Baron” (2008). 

The movie’s ambitious and nigh epic, but there are some contrived, unconvincing moments. For instance, the “German spy” part could’ve been cut with no harm done, not to mention make for a more streamlined viewing experience. Yet I’m glad that the film’s not as one-dimensional as the realistic “Aces High” (which, don’t get me wrong, is a quality WW1 fighter pilot flick). For instance, “Flyboys” throws in a good trench sequence involving ‘No Man’s Land’ that LOOKS convincing; too bad it’s not believable at all (the way so-and-so easily saves so-and-so). 

Eugene Skinner, the black pilot, was based on the real-life Eugene Jacques Bullard (the filmmakers just changed the surname). In real life Eugene hoped to join the Lafayette Escadrille, but they stopped receiving applicants by the summer of 1916 after accepting 38 American pilots. So, a few months later, Eugene joined the Lafayette Flying Corps on November 15, 1916.

As far as strafing downed aviators goes, it was considered dishonorable, but the movie suggests that a minority of ignoble pilots did so, which is reasonable.  In the film an ignoble German pilot strafes & kills an American, which is what later spurs an honorable German pilot to make amends in a pretty powerful scene. 

The film runs 2 hours, 20 minutes, and was shot in England (Buckinghamshire, Essex, Bedfordshire & Somerset House, Strand, London, with studio work done in Hertfordshire). PS: The lion, Whisky, was a real mascot for the squad, along with another named Soda.

GRADE: B/B+

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