Red Tails
3/4
Starring: Nate Parker, Tristan Wilds, Elijah Kelley, Ne-Yo, David Oyelowo, Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Rated PG-13 for Some Sequences of War Violence
In many ways, "Red Tails" is as much George Lucas' baby as "Star Wars." He put up all the money to make it (which, including marketing, comes to a whopping $93 million), since studios didn't think foreign markets would be interested in a movie with an all-black cast (my oh my, how far we've come...). Although his only official credit is that of an executive producer, I wouldn't be surprised if he had a hand in both writing and directing; if it were my money, I would have done so. The successes, and flaws, in Lucas' storytelling capabilities are as apparent here as they are in his most famous saga.
In 1942, the Tuskegee Airmen are an Army experiment: how do black pilots fare in combat. The Army doesn't think much of them; the Airmen are given hand-me-down planes and sent on relatively pointless missions. Colonel A.J. Bullard (Howard) has left his men and gone to Washington to beg for his men's chance to fight real battles. Although they are met with some resistance, they are sent to cover the bombers, which are being decimated since their fighter pilot escorts are ordered to chase after enemy aircraft, leaving the heavies defenseless. Are they up to the challenge?
The film is pure formula, and it's not very well done formula. The problem is that the script, credited to John Ridley and "Boondocks" creator Aaron McGruder is weak, and the characters are not only reduced to cliches, but half developed cliches. We have the jokester, the young one trying to prove himself, the heroic but self-doubting leader, the daredevil, and so on. But they're so undeveloped that it is hard to tell one from the other.
There are other problems. First is the tone. The characters approach fighting like it's a fun-loving adventure. Fifteen years ago, that might have been fine. It is a summer action movie after all. But after "Saving Private Ryan," "Black Hawk Down," and other movies that showed the true horror of war, it doesn't really work anymore. Second, for a film with the purpose of showing the courage and duty of the much aligned black soldiers, it does so in a slapdash manner. The change of heart by the white soldiers in their views of their black compatriots is far too simplistic to be credible, and Smokey (Ne-Yo) is a crude racist caricature.
So why do I recommend the film? It is well-acted and the action scenes are excellent. In fact, the film will lose a lot of its luster on a smaller screen. As for the performances, everyone does their jobs, but no one really stands out. Well-known actors Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr (who because of bad choices and a terrible agent has been off the big screen for five years) are just supporting characters.
Look, great art, this isn't. It's a good thing they released it in January, because it would get lost in the summer blitz. But for what it is, it's a decent enough yarn.
Starring: Nate Parker, Tristan Wilds, Elijah Kelley, Ne-Yo, David Oyelowo, Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Rated PG-13 for Some Sequences of War Violence
In many ways, "Red Tails" is as much George Lucas' baby as "Star Wars." He put up all the money to make it (which, including marketing, comes to a whopping $93 million), since studios didn't think foreign markets would be interested in a movie with an all-black cast (my oh my, how far we've come...). Although his only official credit is that of an executive producer, I wouldn't be surprised if he had a hand in both writing and directing; if it were my money, I would have done so. The successes, and flaws, in Lucas' storytelling capabilities are as apparent here as they are in his most famous saga.
In 1942, the Tuskegee Airmen are an Army experiment: how do black pilots fare in combat. The Army doesn't think much of them; the Airmen are given hand-me-down planes and sent on relatively pointless missions. Colonel A.J. Bullard (Howard) has left his men and gone to Washington to beg for his men's chance to fight real battles. Although they are met with some resistance, they are sent to cover the bombers, which are being decimated since their fighter pilot escorts are ordered to chase after enemy aircraft, leaving the heavies defenseless. Are they up to the challenge?
The film is pure formula, and it's not very well done formula. The problem is that the script, credited to John Ridley and "Boondocks" creator Aaron McGruder is weak, and the characters are not only reduced to cliches, but half developed cliches. We have the jokester, the young one trying to prove himself, the heroic but self-doubting leader, the daredevil, and so on. But they're so undeveloped that it is hard to tell one from the other.
There are other problems. First is the tone. The characters approach fighting like it's a fun-loving adventure. Fifteen years ago, that might have been fine. It is a summer action movie after all. But after "Saving Private Ryan," "Black Hawk Down," and other movies that showed the true horror of war, it doesn't really work anymore. Second, for a film with the purpose of showing the courage and duty of the much aligned black soldiers, it does so in a slapdash manner. The change of heart by the white soldiers in their views of their black compatriots is far too simplistic to be credible, and Smokey (Ne-Yo) is a crude racist caricature.
So why do I recommend the film? It is well-acted and the action scenes are excellent. In fact, the film will lose a lot of its luster on a smaller screen. As for the performances, everyone does their jobs, but no one really stands out. Well-known actors Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr (who because of bad choices and a terrible agent has been off the big screen for five years) are just supporting characters.
Look, great art, this isn't. It's a good thing they released it in January, because it would get lost in the summer blitz. But for what it is, it's a decent enough yarn.
Comments
Post a Comment