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Red Tails

Red Tails (2012)

January. 20,2012
|
5.9
|
PG-13
| Adventure Drama Action History

The story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American pilots to fly in a combat squadron during World War II.

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emoniejeanjacques
2012/01/20

Red Tails In war-torn Italy, 1944, the all-black 332nd Fighter Group are denied the opportunity for combat flying and relegated to routine patrols. Yet, due to the perseverance of Colonel Bullard Howard, they earn the chance to prove their worth. This is as close as you'll get to Episode VII," George Lucas has said about Red Tails, his long-cherished project about the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American fighter-pilot squadron. He's not wrong. Red Tails pitches a band of plucky rebels in inferior vehicles against a dastardly empire and packs it with all the patented Lucas trademarks a love of speed and action, moral certainty, cloth-eared dialogue, easy-to-grasp characters, idealised heroism to create an entertaining slice of Boy's Own adventure that never realises the full potential of its subject matter. Just as Star Wars is an upgrade of Flash Gordon serials, so Red Tails is a fighter-ace movie that 60-odd years ago might have been directed by Howard Hawks or Nicholas Ray it's actually directed by Treme/The Wire vet Anthony Hemingway . It's the kind of old-school adventure where pilots have nicknames like Lightning David Oyelowo , Easy Nate Parker and Smoky R&B star Ne-Yo, but upgrades the old miniatures-on-wire/stock footage combo for exciting digital dogfights, which mostly feel real and stirring. In this 1940s Top Gun, the Maverick is Joe 'Lightning' Little, a spirited turn from Oyelowo, taking chances in the air and on the ground, wooing an Italian senorita Daniela Ruah. Elsewhere, the flyers are a likable set of stock characters that could have done with more complexity. In the air, they never know fear or vulnerability; on the ground they can be reduced to a single phrase Drink Problem, God Fearing, Kid Who Becomes A Man that nearly makes this Hot ShotsPart Trois. It's an enjoyable, engaging enough romp, but it eschews the edges in the story. Debatably bigger than the Red Tails' fight in the air the Germans make Herr Flick look progressive is their battle against the entrenched racism of the US Air Force represented here by Terrence Howard vs. Bryan Cranston, but the depiction here lacks grit and gravitas; one moment they are barred from an officers' club, then, one successful mission later, they are welcomed with open arms. A fun B movie is a valid approach, but you can't help feel there were richer pickings to be had.

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erikajefferson-33378
2012/01/21

¨ A crew of African American pilots in the Tuskegee training program, having faced segregation while kept mostly on the ground during World War II, are called into duty under the guidance of Col. A.J. Bullard. ¨ I feel as though reading that part alone makes the movie a great movie because there are not a lot of movies with the starring roles as african american black men as the stars . The movies talks about segregation and how bad it was during WWll , A black getting together with a white women, the black men getting crappy material, treated bad by other WHITE pilots and etc. and to watch that movie and see that they didn't want help during the war, why were they trying to belittle them and trying to deny them the right to fly . SO I think this was a Great movie !

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Steve Boose
2012/01/22

When I got my big-screen TV, the first thing I watched on it (to, you know, calibrate it) was Red Tails. The aerial combat scenes were amazing to watch...And yet, there was so much garbage as well!For one thing, the difference between .30-calibre (that is, 3/10ths of an inch) and 30mm (1.2 inches!) is utterly ignored - big bullets repeatedly do little damage, while little bullets do big damage! People die or don't die as the plot of the story demands, not according to logic. And everyone's a type - no one is a full-fledged, fleshed-out character, but instead they are all a type filling a spot on the roster. I'd still watch it again, if only to hear the head mechanic shout the line, "Did someone shoot a train at you?!" one more time. If you want the real story, The Tuskeegee Airmen is out there. If you want to take your brain out and put it in a box, try this one.

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Nick Hilton
2012/01/23

The trailer makes the movie look so much better, while the movie is very underwhelming. The audio is the worst part, the voices don't make sense and don't sound good. Everyone's voice is so bland, monotone and unbearable. The action scenes are decent, but the audio and voices just make you forget about them.

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