I took my kids to see the new WW2 aviation movie from George Lucas – Red Tails this weekend. I’ve been waiting to see this film for years, ever since I first heard Lucas was trying to make it. Being an avid aviation buff, I was ready to be wowed by CG airplanes and lots of cool piloting.
Red Tails is an old school action movie, mild enough for most kids above age ten to watch. The airplane action is a bit faster than it probably was in real life, but still rang true enough for this former pilot not to complain. I loved the WW2 sets and costumes almost as much as the airplanes. The acting is a bit weak at times, but not so horrible that it ruins the movie.
I enjoyed this movie more than my kids did, but they certainly liked it. Don’t go looking for some heavy hitting racial equality film because while this obviously deals with racism given the subject, it’s much more of an action film than a drama. I’ve known about the Tuskegee Airmen since I was a kid, because aviation history was one of my favorite subjects. I’m really glad that these men were honored with this film and I hope more kids today watch it so the memory of these pilots lives on.
This film will be in my collection as soon as it makes it to Blue-Ray. I intend to watch the airplane dogfights over and over again and dream about someone making a modern film about my other favorite WW2 squadron – the AVG.
It looks like Red Tails did pretty good at the box office this weekend. It did $19 Million and came in second place.