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First World War was fought with 20th century
technology within a 19th century mindset, and the
result of this Molotov cocktail was massive
casualties on a scale never before seen or even
imagined. It was also the first war to make use of
the still new technology of motion pictures as a
tool of both journalism and propaganda. Although
this was often less journalism and more
propaganda, most of the footage would qualify
today as "reality TV" since most of it
was staged for dramatic effect. Since staging for
dramatic effect was the business of Hollywood, it
wouldn't be long before they took it one step
further and made it all dramatic, or more
accurately, melodramatic. The ink was still wet on
the Treaty of Versailles when the studios began a
new cycle of films that used the Great War as a
backdrop for the kind of stoical romanticism
specialized by John Monk Saunders, the pulp poet
of the air.
There are several stock
characters in these melodramas and you will
recognize all of them as they have appeared in
many films to this date. One is the Ace Squadron
Leader. He is the veteran of many kills and
missions who has seen it all and seems to have
lost all the idealism he may have once had,
replacing it with a jaded desire for revenge for
his dead friends. His arch enemy is a German flier
who is always a variation on the Red Baron. The
other is the Young Idealist. He arrives with the
pack of new recruits and is immediately pushed
around by the Ace Squadron Leader", who sees
his former self in the new pilot, and lets him
know that war is indeed hell and the best you can
expect is a quick, painless death.
When the Young Idealist
proves his mettle in battle, the Ace Squadron
Leader shows his newfound respect for him. Later,
after many terrible missions, the Ace Squadron
Leader sacrifices himself in battle against the
Black Raven or Brown Bunny (or a similarly moniker
villain), and the Young Idealist finds himself
being named the new Ace Squadron Leader, with his
own bone to pick with the Yellow Hornet. If you've
never seen one of these films, ask Snoopy. He
knows all about them.
"Flyboys" doesn't
miss a beat in following this mad lib template.
It's ostensibly the romantic adventure of a group
of young Americans who go to
France
to join the Lafayette Escadrille, a special
squadron of 38 American pilots who risked their
lives before their own country decided to enter
the war. It may indeed be inspired by a true
story, but what we see onscreen is simply
"Star Wars" set in some fantasy French
air base circa 1917. Similar to the war that
inspired it, "Flyboys" uses 21st century
technology to tell a very old fashioned 20th
century tale of how war will make a man out of
you; that is, if you are lucky enough to survive
it.
The movie was shot with the
new Panavision Genesis camera, which was also used
on "Superman
Returns" and seems to have proven itself
as the first true challenger to the throne held by
Eastman Kodak. The images are colorful and sharp,
making the film aesthetically enjoyable even when
the content is completely absurd. Speaking of the
content, it is the responsibility of three
screenwriters, of whom David S. Ward is the best
known. Ward is the Academy Award winning writer of
"The Sting" and "Major
League". This script, however, is more
"Major League" than "The
Sting".
Which is not to say
"Flyboys" isn't fun or even technically
well made. There is a strange tendency in modern
art that if director Tony Bill simply let us know
he realized he was working with some really hokey
and ancient story conventions and that he was
playing some of it for dark satire, it would
suddenly be a great movie. Still, you feel as
though everyone was quite sincere about the
story's absurdities. During the second act climax,
the script even rolls out its own version of the
Death Star via a massive Zeppelin the pilots try
to bring down.
It's particularly from this
point on that the movie gets carried away with its
CGI zeal. Since anything is physically possible
with CGI planes, the film seems to test the
impossible at every chance. Even if half of the
stunt "flying" in "Flyboys"
were actually possible, it is not cinematically
believable, including a "flyby" shooting
with a hand held pistol in the skies that is quite
hard to swallow. In real life, some people
actually survive after being shot in the head, but
this would really challenge our suspension of
disbelief onscreen.
The performances are
excellent all round. James Franco ("The
Great Raid" and the "Spiderman"
movies) proves that the acclaim he received for
playing James Dean was no fluke. Jean Reno ("Empire
of the Wolves") effectively does his Jean
Reno thing as the Commander, and Martin Henderson
("Torque")
should have had more scenes since his character
was the most enigmatic and interesting of the
bunch. He's the Ace Squadron Leader by the way.
Outside of the content
itself, the movie is very handsomely produced,
with excellent digital photography by Henry Braham
which seems to exploit the full color range of the
Genesis camera. The CGI looks visually convincing,
and the direction of the air battles is always
clear, with no confusion as to who is shooting
whom or where the danger lies. Bill is a veteran
director and he is not sloppy with his craft:
"Flyboys" is solidly built on the
rickety legs of clichés. The movie might even
sneak its old fashioned story by if it were
shorter. At 139 minutes, it's at least a half hour
too long.
The final shot of the movie
shows a photograph of the actual aces of the
Lafayette Escadrille, and it is very jarring. With
this one image, you are suddenly reawakened to the
odd fact that the romantic comic book adventure
you have just watched has some actual basis in the
lives and deaths of real men. Instead of being the
inspiring image it was clearly intended to be, it
makes the last two hours seem somewhat cheap and
exploitative.
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