Product: Flyboys [Blu-ray] (2006)
Rating: 4.0
Just sit back and enjoy the ride!
I have to say that I agree with pretty much everyone - ratings 1 through 5 stars! All of its warts are real, but the bottom line is that if you just remember that it's NOT a documentary (although the film did make a nod to the fact that there was a WWI, and a Lafayette Escadrille, which had American volunteer pilots, and they fought the Germans!) and simply sit back and enjoy, I thought that it was a fun couple of hours. It absolutely does have the Hollywood hokum GENEROUSLY spread throughout.There are a couple of things specifically (and I'm not sure why these inaccuracies bothered me more than the many others!) that historically "stuck in my craw," though, and they have to do with the aircraft and the computer graphics. The Allied aircraft, supposedly Nieuport (yes, the "i" is correct) 17's (introduced into service in March, 1916 as the successor to the 11) had a ROTARY engine, but it's portrayed as a RADIAL. What's the diff? Both have the cylinders arrayed like the spokes of a wheel, but a ROTARY engine actually turns around itself, unlike a radial (of extensive WWII fame, particularly), which has stationary cylinders. If you look at the Flyboy engines, they don't move! I guess that the producers either didn't know the difference, or it's too difficult to make the engine turn in the computer program (??). There's one fleeting scene showing some mechanics working on an engine in the hangar, and IT DOES ROTATE, so someone knew something. Sorry, this little tidbit just bugged me! By the way, the rotary was one reason why pilots usually had greasy faces after a flight - the rotary had to have its lubricating oil mixed with the fuel (it was castor oil, which doesn't mix with gasoline) - so along with the exaust, unburned oil flew back in the slipstream and over the pilot. Likewise, some of the machines have "V" shaped upper planes. Nieuports had straight wings. At least they got it right that they were sesquiplanes (lower wing smaller than upper). The wing differences are hard to understand in a computer generated film. In older movies, when they used real aircraft, it's easy to see why there were differences (look at Blue Max) - there just simply aren't enough biplanes that remotely resemble WWI aircraft still flying, so "look-(something)alikes" had to be used. If you're building all of the aircraft in a computer, why not make it as accurate as possible?However, I'm forgetting that this was simply entertainment. If you leave it at that, again, it's not that bad. I, for one, despite its problems, do plan to pick up a copy for fun. Enjoy!