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Flyboys (DVD, 2006)
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Approximately£3.85
+ C $13.37 postage
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The movie kept you on the edge of your seat, which quite frankly, does,'t happen often anymore.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I was very disappointed in this DVD! Me and my wife sat down to watch it. But a quarter of the way into the movie. It simply locked up? I then ejected th disc and inspected it. I saw a very small scratch. I then placed it in my DVD buffer to clean it. And tried playing a second time. Again it froze up nearly as the same place in the movie as before. So I was not disappointed in this purchase. :-(
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Here we go again. It's yet another movie about a relatively unknown chapter in history brought to the screen in the form of a cliché-fest. I keep hoping filmmakers will learn the error of their ways, just like I keep doubting they will. The United States has yet to enter World War I, but several of America's sons have enlisted in the Lafayette Escadrille, a squadron of pilots aiding the French and English in their struggle against the German war machine. Heading up the newest batch of volunteers is Blaine Rawlings (James Franco), a Texas cowpoke who fled the States after punching out the banker who foreclosed on his family's ranch. He is joined by rich kid Briggs Lowry (Tyler Labine), African-American boxer Eugene Skinner (Abdul Salis), Midwesterner William Jensen (Philip Winchester), and perpetual screw-up Eddie Beagle (David Ellison). While awaiting his first sortie against the enemy, Rawlings meets and falls for Lucienne (Jennifer Decker), a local girl who is raising her late brother's three children. But duty eventually calls, and the boys finally take to the skies, battling the superior firepower and skills of the German pilots. Needless to say, not all of them will be coming back. When it came time to write this, I was almost tempted to cut and paste my recent review of Pearl Harbor and simply change the names of the characters and actors. It would almost work, as Flyboys shares many of the same problems as Michael Bay's misfire. Despite producer Dean Devlin's claims that this movie was independently financed in order to avoid any interference from studio brass, Flyboys plays just like your standard Hollywood wannabe-epic. The movie isn't really bad, it's just old-hat. The characters are all pretty much stereotypes, the story follows a well-worn path, and a sappy, nonsensical romance is shoehorned into the plot, so yet again we end up with a movie that completely squanders its potential by sticking to conventionality like gum to the sole of a shoe. You want a hero who gets in trouble while just trying to protect his family's way of life? Check. You want an older pilot with a mysterious past who is haunted by the deaths of his friends? Check. (This one is played by Martin Henderson.) You want a no-nonsense but loving commanding officer? Check. (This one is played by the great Jean Reno.) You want a bigot who eventually realizes what a fool he's been and makes amends with the man he's wronged? Check. You want a daring rescue in the middle of a raging battle? Check. You want everyone to get a shot at redemption by movie's end? Check. You want the whole thing bogged down by a superfluous romantic subplot? Check. You want a city threatened by lava flows? That you won't find here, but I wouldn't be surprised to find out the writers had tried to work it in. If you have any questions about this review please contact us at contact@ck-auctions.com Posted by CK-AuctionsRead full review
This film is about men in aerial combat over France during World War I. The film follows the enlistment, training and combat experiences of a group of young Americans who volunteer to become fighter pilots in the Lafayette Escadrille, the 124th air squadron formed by the French in 1916, prior to America's entrance into the war. The squadron consisted of five French officers and 38 American volunteers who wanted to fly and fight in World War I during the main years of the conflict, 1914–1917. One of them, Blaine Rawlings (James Franco) faced with the foreclosure of his family ranch in Texas, decides to enlist after seeing a newsreel of aerial combat in France. Dilettante Briggs Lowry (Tyler Labine) joins because of his overbearing father. African-American boxer Eugene Skinner (Abdul Salis), who had been accepted as an athlete in France, was motivated to "pay back" his adopted country. These American recruits were under the command of French Captain Georges Thenault (Jean Reno), while the veteran fighter ace Reed Cassidy (Martin Henderson), a fellow American, takes over as their mentor. During their training, each pilot struggles with the demanding flying; later, they have to face the aerial dogfights that dominate the front line missions. At that time, the average life expectancy of the pilots is only six weeks. Chivalry has been abandoned in most cases by now, with downed pilots being machine-gunned, airplanes dropping poison gas bombs, and aerial strafing of columns of soldiers. Several of the most important bombing missions and battles between the ace German pilots and American volunteers are explored. The action is graphic and very real with bullets whizzing by during the dogfights. I enjoyed this film.Read full review
Okay, if you're just looking for a good action film about WWI aviation without total regard to historical accuracy, this is a good movie. However, if you are a student of the topic you will spot the many errors: Wrong planes and years in many cases; situations are largely contrived and romanticized. Many technical aspects and tactics are not true or in some cases, not possible. There is a lot of artistic license taken and it is very loosely based on real personalities and historical events. It has also been made "politically correct" to 21st century sensibilities. Nevertheless, it is gratifying to see a new movie (with good computerized action)on this topic. The last somewhat "respectable" portrayal of the era was the late 1960's "Blue Max" film. I hear the Germans are currently in production on a movie about Richthofen's life which sounds promising.Read full review
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