Product: Flyboys [Blu-ray] (2006)
Rating: 2.0
A Story About the Lafayette Escadrille
The film starts with a view of the heavens. The recently invented flying machine was adopted by armies as an observation platform that was better than the earlier tethered balloon. In September 1914 an observation airplane saw the German flanking attack, they were able to stop it at the first Battle of the Marne using the taxis of Paris (fast mechanized deployment). The way to stop observation airplanes was to shoot them down with another armed airplane. First rifles, then machine guns. The way to stop an armed fighter was with another armed fighter. Bombing was another development, as well as anti-aircraft guns. Trench warfare prevented the maneuvers used by generals of the past. A stalemate followed.A young man in Texas wants to get out of town. Another leaves Nebraska for "The War to End War". An American boxer joins the Lafayette Escadrille. So too a dropout from Harvard. The men meet their mascot "Whiskey" and the issue of racism. The men undergo elementary training in flying and tactics. The average life of a pilot was six weeks. The German Air Force predominated in 1916. Fighters will accompany Handley-Page bombers to attack German supplies. No parachutes for pilots. "Beware of the Hun in the sun!" There is a dogfight, some are shot down. One flyer seeks love. There is a pleasant scene. Then they are scrambled to pursue German bombers. Another dogfight with wins and losses.One flyer returns to see a girlfriend. There is a drama in the history of one flyer. Why did he miss his target? A flight of Fokkers attacked a town, the Lafayette Escadrille comes to the rescue. One pilot lands in No Man's Land, and is rescued in an incredible manner. Was the war meaningless? Who will win? Can one flyer rescue his girlfriend? [Did anyone fly at night then?] It was a dramatic rescue. "Don't ever do that again!" Next they attack a Zeppelin. [These bombed London at night.] The film shows the effects of machine gun fire on the pilots and airplanes. The hospital is being evacuated. Will they meet again? There is another mission to attack Jametz. This time it will be a flanking attack to surprise the enemy with escorted bombers. There is another dogfight to let the bombers get through. There is a last dogfight between the fighter airplanes. Will the good guy survive? The last scenes tell about the flyer's future.This is a good film in spite of the story. This film uses CGI to recreate the known past. A better story makes a better film. You may find a book about this subject educational. Hollywood provides entertainment, not history. ["They Fought for the Sky" by Quentin Reynolds.]