Flyboys (Widescreen Edition) Review

First I like to address the controversy sustained by various reviewers of this film about accuracy or inaccuracy of historical events.
As usually occurs when Hollywood’s products states “based on historical or true facts” viewers should take the statement as “very loosely based on historical or true facts”, such is the case here. So do not get annoyed when lots of tri-planes shows up or a zeppelin intends to bomb Paris, those are the usual “historical licenses” of this kind of films.
I regard this movie as an “action film” as for example “Indiana Jones” or “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” and as such is quite good.

“Flyboys” (2006) was directed by multifaceted Tony Bill who is also actor and producer of many films.

The story is based on the ventures of young Americans volunteers to become pilots of Lafayette Escadrille. From all over the States with different motivations they go to France without even knowing a French word.
There they are trained and launched, still green, into the fry suffering losses and evolving step by step into veteran and even aces.

I love the special effects now possible with CGI, crowds of planes may be shown, fighting each other fiercely and giving the word “action” a full new meaning.

Play acting is correct, with only Jean Reno as Capt. Thenault over par, beautiful French actress Jennifer Decker as Lucienne give way to romance.
The runtime, 140 minutes, is a little excessive.

A good movie for a variety of audiences: WWI buffs, action movie’s fan, romance fans.
Reviewed by Max Yofre.

World War I aviation action gets an impressive digital upgrade in Flyboys, a welcome addition to the “dogfight” sub-genre that includes such previous war-in-the-air films like Hell’s Angels, Wings, and The Blue Max. While those earlier films had the advantage of real and genuinely dangerous flight scenes (resulting, in some cases, in fatal accidents during production), Flyboys takes full (and safe) advantage of the digital revolution, with intensely photo-realistic recreations of WWI aircraft, authentic period structures, and CGI environments requiring a total of 850 digital effects shots, resulting in an abundance of amazing images, many of them virtually indistinguishable from reality. Unfortunately, the film’s technical achievement is more impressive than its screenplay, which conventionally and predictably tells the fact-based story, set in France in 1916, of the daring young pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille, a pioneering French air-combat unit that welcomed American enlistees prior to the United States’ entry into the war.

There’s a familiar cliché to match every thrilling scene of aerial combat, but director Tony Bill manages to keep it all interesting, from the romance between a young American maverick (James Franco) and a pretty French girl (newcomer Jennifer Decker) to the exciting action in the air, which includes a stock variety of heroes (many of them composites of real-life WWI pilots) and an intimidating villain known only as “The Black Falcon,” whose Fokker Dr-1 triplane (one of many in the film) recalls the exploits of German “ace of aces” Manfred von Richtofen, the dreaded “Red Baron” of legend. With impeccable production values that will impress even the most nit-picking aviation buffs, Flyboys (like Superman Returns and Apocalypto, also released in 2006) was also one of the first feature films to be shot with Panavision’s state-of-the-art Genesis digital cameras, resulting in beautiful images that meet or exceed the visual nuance of film. Flyboys also benefits from painstaking attention to physical detail, making it easier to forgive its shortcomings as a generic and formulaic slice of romanticized history. So while some viewers may have wished for a more realistic and grown-up depiction of the Lafayette Escadrille, it’s safe to say that Flyboys will be thrilling its target audience for many years to come. –Jeff Shannon

Extras from Flyboys

Director Tony Bill on Filming Dogfight Sequences

…On throwing away the script for pilot training

…On the real-life stunt pilot who stars in the film

Beyond Flyboys

More “War in the Sky” Films

SPA124 Lafayette Escadrille: American Volunteer Airmen in World War 1

More “Military and War” Films

Stills from Flyboys

Flyboys (Widescreen Edition) Specifications

Inspired by true events, tells the story of the Lafayette Escadrille, a group of American men who volunteered to fight for the French before the U.S. entered World War I and became the country’s first fighter pilots.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 18-SEP-2007
Media Type: DVD

Available Check Price Now!

Related Products

• Battle of Britain
• Hart’s War
• Windtalkers
• Dark Blue (+ Widescreen DVD) [Blu-ray]
• Out of Time (+ Widescreen DVD) [Blu-ray]

Customer Reviews

Excellent movie and sound is superb – H. Dieterich – Lehigh Valley, PA
If you’re a fan of WWI dogfights…this is an excellent movie… and Blue Ray just makes for a better viewing experience. If you are hooked to an audio system… the sound is incredible.

Enjoyed the film but two things not right – EdM from NH –
Towards the end when the hero challanges The Black Falcon instead of dropping him in the big field, The Black Falcon starts the rotary engine in his DR-1 and rises to the challange. Sorry, but WWI rotary engines had only wide open or no ignition settings. Partial power was achieved by intermittent blipping of the ignition kill switch and the inertia of the rotating engine mass keep them from stalling.

They had chocks on the wheels and the ground crew spun the prop. They usually took off from where they were parked and they taxied in blipping away to their parking place. If The Black Falcon propped his own airplane in the middle of the field, I can guarantee that his own prop would slice him up like a deli salami!

Also, very few DR-1′s were painted all red. That was reserved for
Baron Manfred von Richtofen. Otherwise I liked the movie.

Yes, I’m a pilot.

great special effects and that’s all we really wanted – The Queen of Noirs – Santa Clara, CA USA
The Prince of Noirs, being only 9 years old, is in love with the notion of war. It is all so heroic and exciting when you don’t fully comprehend the finality of death. However, as I am a doting mother I indulge the Prince but not without a lot of editorial comment (“I bet their mamas are crying for them”…”even German mamas loved their boys”…”I sure hope there’s no war when you grow up”…etc etc). This movie, Flyboys, was about perfect for our Saturday Night Viewing needs. The story line was very simple, there was a sweet little tragic love story easily comprehended by a 9 year old, and some walloping good special effects of bi-planes flying and shooting each other. The effects are what one should watch this movie for, as they are able to induce suspended disbelief in even the most jaded viewer. One is left with a sense of respect for the men who did fly these planes back when there were no parachutes. In fact, the Prince evinced renewed interest in his great grandfather who few a biplane in WWI for the British. So it wasn’t a waste of time at all. A bit long maybe, and the talky parts drew out a bit but overall it was an enjoyable movie.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Dec 12, 2009 10:00:31

>> Check Price Now!