Red Tails (2012)

Like most boys, I watched many war movies like 'Memphis Belle', 'Iron Eagle', 'Top Gun', and of course the HBO movie 'The Tuskegee Airmen.' I grew up wanting to be a fighter pilot, a plan I kept to until I was 17 when the AirForce Academy application stated I would never be allowed to fly due to eyesight. I still love aviation  movies with dogfights in them.  When I heard that George Lucas was going to make a modern blockbuster movie about the Tuskegee airmen, I was excited. More accurately I was stoked.

The story of the Tuskegee Airmen is amazing.  A unit of African American and Haitian airmen, mechanics and support personnel , that overcame racism, prejudice and bigotry to become one of the most successful, decorated  and respected units of WWII.  The 332nd flew over 311 missions and only lost 25 bombers to enemy fire.  They shot down over 112 enemy planes, destroyed another 150 on the ground, 600 train cars, 40 boats and one destroyer.  A truly amazing record.

Red Tails has everything you would expect in a WWII aviation movie. Dog fights, explosions, planes flying past the camera, etc. It also has every cliche too.  The scarred German ace pilot, the grumpy aircraft mechanic, the maverick fighter pilot, the beautiful European love interest, etc.  The movie is a bit predictable and I don't to expect to see any Oscar nominations, but overall the story is enjoyable.

I read an article in the New York Times where Lucas said he wanted this movie to appeal to black teenagers.  He said he wasn't making it for grown-ups.  He wanted it to have a patriotic naiveté to it.  Now, in retrospect, I can see that intention.  So many of the movies I loved as a kid, I now find corny and predictable.  But they appealed to me and inspired me.  While Red Tails isn't as corny as Iron Eagle, it will definitely appeal to kids who see it.  It will instill pride in black teenagers who see it, and help drive home the point to all that it is the character and the drive of the man, not the color of his skin that determines ability.

Red Tails is envisioned as the middle movie in a trilogy.  Since Lucas had to foot the bill for the whole movie, I'm not sure if a studio will sign up to film the prequel, but if it does get filmed, I'll be in the theater to watch it.

Despite being a war movie, Red Tails does not have much blood in it. A few characters are shot and one gets burned, but by war movie standards it is very mild.  It is PG-13, but I think it would be fine for kids 10 and up.  I give it 8 / 10.