Product: Flyboys [Blu-ray] (2006)
Rating: 4.0
Exciting aerial sequences
This is a lavish, big-budget look at the LaFayette Escadrille - the American fighter pilots who volunteered for France before their country entered World War One. The locales, the sets, the costumes, the equipment, and, of course, the airplanes - what a pageant! There is an engaging mix of characters: the down-on-his-luck cowboy, the expatriate black prizefighter, the spoiled Harvard drop-out, the Bible-thumper, the wet-behind-the-ears youngster, the suspected spy, the cynical veteran ace, the French farmgirl, and the cruel and unscrupulous Black Falcon. The two young romantic leads are attractive enough, but let's face it - the real reason for seeing this movie is provided by the dogfights. And director Tony Bill does not disappoint: the sequences of aerial combat are as thrilling as any military action ever recreated on film. They are easy to follow because all the planes have very visible personal insigniae clearly identifying who's who. The only negative I have to say is that the musical soundtrack sounds like a rip-off of the Mel Gibson film The Patriot.