Red Tails

Red Tails is directed by Anthony Hemingway, and stars Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrance Howard. It also stars a bunch of fresh new talent to portray the flyers.


In 1944, after enduring racism throughout their recruitment and training in the Tuskegee airmen training program a crew of young African American USAAF (Army Air Corp) fighter pilots are finally sent into combat in Italy, while Colonel A.J. Bullard
(Terrance Howard) and Major Emanuelle Stance (Cuba Gooding Jr.) face a military bureaucracy still resistant to accepting black pilots as equal.

Going into this film I wasn’t looking forward to it, since it was produced by George Lucas who directed the Star Wars prequels and produced the Indiana Jones films. It did have a good storyline. Lucas, of course, delivers a mediocre hit.


Anthony Hemingway was the unit director for such films as Ali, and the remake of The Manchurian Candidate. He hasn’t actually fronted the film before. His directing was fine. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t
bad.



The main problem that I had with this film was the acting. You get some top-notch performances by Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrance Howard, and you get some flat performances by the flyers. (Interchangeable)

Even though Lucas only executive produced it, the dialogue is so cheesy. It was like the film was made by a 5 year old. In fact, the writer of this film, John Ridley wrote Undercover Brother and Three Kings.

There were some good special effects, but you have seen it all before in Michael Bay films, and the director seems to follow in Bay’s footsteps, delivering non-stop action and horrible dialogue. It seemed a bit CGI-ish.
Lucas in an interview stated that he wanted the film to be true to the Tuskegee Airmen, and while I enjoyed the 1992 release (separate movie; don’t mix reviews) of The Tuskegee Airmen, Red Tails sadly, did not do the Airmen justice.


All in all, if your looking for a true Tuskegee airmen WWII film, check out the 1992 film starring Lawrence Fishburne and Cuba Gooding Jr. However, if your looking for an all around mediocre action flick, I say check Red Tails out, but as a rental.