Have people learned absolutely nothing from the screaming mess that was “Pearl Harbor?” Have people learned absolutely nothing from the quiet greatness that was “Saving Private Ryan?”
You know how people say you need to learn history in order to not make the same mistakes? It is nice to see the saying not be applied in filmmakers’ approaches to historical movies.
“Flyboys” is another movie inspired by historical events. Before America joined World War I American men volunteered to become combat pilots in France. These men helped form The Lafayette Escadrille. Their story should be told, but Flyboys, in wide release today, is not the movie their heroics should be told through.
The movie follows, well, a bunch of men as they leave their families, learn how to fly and engage in combat. As only one of the characters was paid any attention to, I will list them in terms I believe the movie recognizes them. There is The Boyfriend, later christened as The-Losing-Nerve One, (Philip Winchester), The Rich, Pudgy One (Tyler Labine), The Goofy Sexed-Up One (David Ellison), The African American One (Abdul Salis), The Religious One (Michael Jibson), The Skinny One (Pip Pickering), The Babysitter (an underused Jean Reno) and the character I dubbed as The Poor Man’s Dr. McDreamy One (Martin Henderson).
James Franco stars as the movie’s hero, Blaine Rawlings, and this right here is the film’s biggest problem. No one should be the hero in this ensemble. No one should get scenes, nay, entire plotlines, all to himself. Movies about war generally work because the audience gets emotionally involved with a group of tight-knit men. A character can be the leader, but the group aspect should be emphasized.
In “Flyboys,” each character has a plotline, but spending barely ten, forced minutes on each supporting character in a movie that lasts over two hours does not cut it. If the female character pulls more emotional punch than any one of the men in a war movie, then something is seriously wrong.
Ah, yes, the female character. Lucienne (pretty newcomer Jennifer Decker) is the love interest for our hero Blaine. I am rather conflicted by all the attention the movie gives her. Her storyline, laughable as it is, is crucial to my emotional involvement, but then again, I am a girl. Love stories touch me. Yet, I believe the movie would have been stronger had it focused solely on the men and their special bond.
This is Franco’s third film in 2006 in his quest to be The Next Male Heartthrob when he is not trying to kill Spider-Man. I doubt this will be his break-out movie, but it is interesting to see his playful personality seeping into this leading role, an aspect he has not shown in past ‘I am a serious leading man’ roles. He has such a pretty smile.
“Flyboys,” an MGM production, has a certain feel to it, which I can only characterize as Disney. The colors look too bright. No one cusses in this PG-13 movie. It has such a casual tone that you forget this is a war movie until people start dying.
The war scenes have their moments, but there are way too many of them and they can be confusing. Combat pilot movies have the big task of individualizing the men because everyone looks the same in their pilot cap and goggles. In fact, do not try to figure out which character you are looking at. Just enjoy the outstanding CGI effects.
There is a sketchy plotline involving a certain German pilot and his devilish ways (he and his plane wear black so you know they are bad news) as if the filmmakers decided the German force, as a whole, were not a vicious enough enemy. Of course the film’s best emotional combat sequences involve him.
“Flyboys” does not aspire to be like the gritty “Saving Private Ryan,” nor does it seem to want to achieve the majestic, melodramatic heights of “Pearl Harbor.” This movie could have been and should have been the WWI equivalent of 1990s “Memphis Belle,” the excellent feel-good ensemble movie about the crew of a WWII bomber. With its misplaced emphasis and uneven tone, “Flyboys” does a disservice to its subject matter.
