Flyboys

I have revered World War I twin and multi-levels since I was a child, and therefore I did not expect anything more from Flyboys than exaggeration, pathos, and love stories. Which is what I got, but fortunately in a package that somehow didn't offend me. It's about as authentic as Star Wars, the characters are written as flat as a tortilla, the air battles are quite fun and overall it doesn't have time to make me bored. Maybe one day someone will film something historically more faithful than this multi-wing event, but still... a pleasant watch. (11/08/2008)

The excessive sentiment and the typically clichéd heroic scenes and speeches are a shame, because the action is relatively skillfully shot (though by no means groundbreaking) and somewhat realistic. Of course, computers are often used and sometimes a bit more than necessary, but some moments are truly demanding, which can be understood and endured. James Franco surprised me with his improvisation and ease, and the relationship between the French girl and the American pilot is enjoyable and believable. Perhaps a bit long, but still a decent film that gets lost in the average of contemporary big-budget productions. The only fact that elevates it a little higher is that the story takes place in the First World War, which is still relatively unexplored in cinema. (11/04/2008)

If James Franco had been a bit more likeable and hadn't given me the impression of a pretentious guy in the first place, I would probably like Flyboys a bit more. Nevertheless, it is still a simple but decently made film with excellent fight scenes, which I - thankfully - enjoyed in the movie theater. Jean Reno is perfect, and I have to praise the choice of actors for the roles of the other pilots - a very good line-up. Even the "main German" was good. (03/12/2009)

I had mixed feelings about this film. The aerial battles were very nicely animated (except for some nonsensical shenanigans), but then there were a lot of negatives (a black pilot - obviously a descendant of a slave; the rescue of a friend whose plane was shot down in no man’s land, evacuation of a family of four from an enemy-occupied village). Once again, the approach was typically American - while in films from the Second World War, the only German tank that appears is Tiger, here the German fighters only fly Fokker Triplanes (the vast majority of which are red), and not even a single Albatros or Pfalz appears, so yeah, a disappointment. (29/10/2020)

The British-American variation of "Pearl Harbor" and actually also a bit of "Deep Blue World". Love is also the focus here, but it's not such a complicated love triangle. The aerial scenes are not bad at all, but everything else is a bit pointless, average. The story next to you won't even interest you much, and you'll just count how many characters die in the air. It didn't really interest me. The portrayal of characters is rather caricature-like, the fates are pseudo-strong, but the feeling of déjà vu is also present. (23/02/2014)