By J.T. Johnson
Director: Anthony Hemingway
Cast: Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Elijah Kelley, Ne-Yo, Tristan Wilds, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Terrence Howard, Bryan Cranston
Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox
Filmmaker George Lucas first thought of “Red Tails” as a movie back in 1988. After his semi-retirement in order to take care of his kids, the film sat in limbo for several years. Once Lucas completed his “Star Wars” prequels and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” Lucas decided it was finally time to tell the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American pilots during World War II.
The story is an ensemble piece. There are the pilots who have been wasted on missions such as patrols where there are no enemies and taking out the occasional German truck. This has led the people in Washington to believe that the Tuskegee program is a failure. With the help of Colonel A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard) though, they will soon get their chance to show off just how talented they really are.
The pilots themselves are the usual archetypes seen in several of the WWII films from the ‘50s that helped inspire the film. There is the doubtful leader, Martin “Easy” Julian (Nate Parker), the crazy and out-of-control Joe “Lightning” Little (David Oyelowo) who is best friends with Easy. Then there are the usual supporting characters such as the comic relief Samuel “Joker” George (Elijah Kelley), the young rookie Ray “Ray Gun” Gannon (Tristan Wilds) and the no nonsense leader Major Emanuel Stance (Cuba Gooding, Jr.).
This is where the script suffers most of its problems. Some of the actors are not all that engaging and the actors who are decent cannot help improve the scripts horrible dialogue, a problem that constantly plagues a Lucas production. Also, the script is filled with the same WWII glory found in older films where the Americans are the selfless heroes and all of the Germans are horrible people who deserve what’s coming to ‘em.
Audiences know today that there were decent German soldiers fighting for their country and that not every American soldier was perfect, so the mock patriotism comes off as cheesy and not at all convincing. Even with all of these problems, though, there are characters that the audience cannot help but care about, primarily Easy and Lightening. In the end, these two characters are just enough to save the film from complete failure.
Then there’s the action. It has been stated (though not confirmed) that while director Anthony Hemingway mainly directed the actors on the ground, the action sequences were directed by Lucas himself. This definitely seems possible when comparing the impressive fighter sequences with those found in “Star Wars.” The sequences may not be incredibly true to how the actual aircrafts functioned, but no one can deny the excitement that is felt while watching the action.
As mentioned earlier, the filmmakers also wanted to make a film that captured the same excitement as older WWII films. The only problem here is that the film is trying so hard to be one of those films that it never quite captures the epic feeling found with classics such as “Battle of Britain” or “The Great Escape.” One can see the tribute that Lucas wanted to give the underappreciated airmen, but it can never fully hit the emotional strings.
While there have been several superior World War II films, “Red Tails” does not belong with the worst of them, either. Again, the dialogue is cliché and the characters are dangerously close to two-dimensional cutouts. In the end, it is the impressive action sequences and a straightforward narrative that helps keep the audience entertained.
PROS:
- The film is filled with several great action sequences and great CGI work from ILM.
- While the characters are extremely close to cardboard cutouts, the audience cannot help but root for them.
CONS:
- Horribly cliché and cheesy dialogue.
- The film fails to grasp the epic nature of the WWII films that inspired its direction.
GRADE: C
