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Flyboys

The previews for this World War I movie make it out to be a fast and furious aerial combat war movie. They were obviously composed of the most exciting and action-packed moments from the movie to lure prospective viewers to the theater. Hollywood has employed this tactic many times. It brings to mind Pearl Harbor which was presented in its previews as a war movie with incredible action packed footage. Like Pearl Harbor, Flyboys is a war movie blanketing (rather thinly might I add) a romance movie.

Flyboys is about American fighter pilots in World War I. Since America had not yet entered the war, they join the French military in order to fight. 

The film begins by introducing the main characters of the movie in short clips. We see each character saying goodbye to his family and, through their conversations, learn their motivations for going to war. Some go for fame, others to prove their worth and still others go because theyve nowhere else to turn. Each character is fairly well-written and their growth throughout the film is entertaining to watch.

Blaine Rawlings (played by James Franco) is an American cowboy whose ranch had recently been foreclosed and is the main character of the movie. He leaves the country and heads for France to learn to fly airplanes. While training as a pilot, he meets a French woman (Jennifer Decker) and is immediately enthralled.

Enter the romance movie! From this point on, whenever the film isnt showing action in the skies, its showing Franco and Decker falling in love in the French countryside. Now, I can honestly say that I am not a fan of romance movies. Strangely however, I didnt feel the romance subplot detracted too much from the film itself. Maybe Ive gone soft. Who knows?

The cheese factor also came into play pretty heavily at a few points in Flyboys. Some of the actions the characters take and some of the things that happen are extremely cheesy. William Jensen (played by Philip Winchester), for instance, is in shock from the time he sees combat until the very end of the film. Suddenly, during the final crucial moment, he somehow gathers all his courage and charges valiantly into battle.

Regardless of its various faults, Flyboys didnt disappoint me. I went expecting a war movie and knew they had to throw in a romance subplot. I got both. Neither was spectacular but all-around Flyboys was a decent film.

If you have $6.50 burning a hole in your pocket and nothing to do, go see Flyboys and be sufficiently distracted for a couple of hours.

Justin Schnurer
