If you like a good story line and don’t mind spotty acting performances, crappy southern accents, and subpar special effects, then you might just enjoy the movie “Red Tails.”
“Red Tails” is a take on the true story of the Tuskegee Airmen. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first Black fighter pilots to fight for their country. In the movie the Tuskegee Airmen want nothing more than to prove that they are just as capable as White pilots and deserve the right to fight for their country as every other American. Red Tails became some of the most decorated aviators of WWII in spite of the racism, segregation and reproach they faced typical of the time.
The cast, which included a rapper and an R&B singer, overdid their southern accents and draws to the point where it felt like you were watching an SNL skit. The over-emphasis on the southern draws made a lot of the scenes seem extra cheesy. I expected a war movie to have great action scenes to compensate for the cheesiness, but I would be wrong.
From the previews, you would think there would have been a healthy portion of action-packed manly aerial combat, but you would be wrong. The aerial combat that did take place seemed slow and uneventful. I don’t know if George Lucas was going for a vintage or authentic feel for the combat scenes, but he definitely nailed “unexciting”.
The movie did have a few bright spots. Terrence Howard delivered an outstanding performance as usual. His character was consistent and believable throughout and is the reason that this movie isn’t a total failure. There are a few good dramatic scenes between Joe “Lightning” Little (David Oyelowo) and a local Italian girl. “Lightning’s” character is a rebellious, cocky, emotional “act now, think later” character type of guy. He was over the top when it came to being the cocky, rebellious guy but did good in the romantic scenes. There were also a few comedic scenes that made me chuckle.
The story line was good. The conflict that the Red Tails faced in putting their lives at risk to fight for a country that saw them as inferior and not deserving to use the same restrooms, eat in the same establishments or even have the same rights and freedoms is more intriguing than just a war story. There should have been more focus on this aspect of the story and of the significance the Red Tails had in desegregating the military.
I went into this movie expecting kind of a manly war movie and was unpleasantly surprised to see it turn out to be more of a bad “chick flick”.
