Flyboys
March 29th, 2008, 7:31 am · Post a Comment · posted by Charlton
As the rain comes down outside it puts me in the mood for a movie adventure, something to take my mind off the droll weather. It’s a great day for the 2006 World War I action/drama Flyboys.
World War I is a subject matter that gets very little attention by movie makers. I suppose that it is far enough removed from the previous century that it doesn’t carry the nostalgic appeal of the 1800’s, and then it was usurped by the global catastrophe of World War II. Sure there are WWI movies, but the number of WWII films far surpass those of the ‘Great War.’ Yet it was WWI that gave birth to numerous modern day war contrivances such as the machine gun and the armored tank (both with respects to DaVinci), motorized transport, gas and chemical weapons and what could be termed the most ‘glamorous’ aspect of that great tragic war - the airplane.
Flyboys is a story based on the true adventures of the Lafayette Escadrille, a group of young American volunteers who flew for the French prior to the U.S. entering World War I, making them the first American fighter pilots. James Franco (Spiderman, In The Valley of Elah) and Jean Reno (Mission Impossible, The Professional) are the principle name actors in this saga that delves into the themes of love, honor, valor, duty and glory. Each member of the cadre has a history and most would rather keep it buried, but through training, fighting and dying they come to respect and depend on one another.
Flyboys serves up some wonderful aerial combat scenes and even though they are mostly computer generated the impact is still one of awe. When you consider how far aircraft have come in the hundred years since the Wright Brothers and WWI biplanes inhabited the skies you realize that these early pilots were not only learning but also developing the skills and tactics that would be used by pilots for the next 100 plus years. Flyboys is an exciting way to learn and see the history of what may one day be a forgotten war.
—–
