Movie Analysis: Fly Boys

Fly Boys

As World War I rages in Europe and Allied forces in France, Italy, and England find their resolve quickly diminishing due to the overwhelming force of the German juggernaut, a handful of brave American soldiers volunteer to join their French counterparts in learning to fly and fighting for freedom from above as the true story of the legendary Lafayette Escadrille comes to the screen in a breathtaking war adventure from Academy Award-winning director Tony Bill and famed producer Dean Devlin. They have come from all over the United States, ready and willing to put their lives on the line despite their country's initial pledge to not get involved with the all-consuming war that rages throughout Europe. Few could have foreseen the challenges faced by the world's first fighter pilots, however, and upon arriving at their aerodrome in France, the aspiring aviators are assigned to a new squadron
under the command of war-ravaged Captain Thenault (Jean Reno) and battle-weary American pilot Reed Cassidy -- the sole survivor of his devastated former air brigade. With little encouragement from their fellow aviators and nothing to drive but their unifying goal of taking to the skies and offering up their lives in the name of freedom, the determined airmen of the Lafayette Escadrille set out to make history by embarking on the adventure of a lifetime.
Near the start of Flyboys, the squadron's grizzled vet hands suicide pistols to the new pilots, to be used if they find themselves in a no-win situation. Unfortunately, the audience is offered no such option.

In this movie about World War I fighter pilots, the characters are as plastic as the planes. That is, of course, when the vintage aircraft aren't computer generated and swarming around a German zeppelin like TIE fighters in a Star Wars movie.

This film has been widely criticized for its lack of historical accuracy. The most serious lapse was the blending of the Lafayette Escadrille with the Lafayette Flying Corps, a sub-unit where the real-life Eugene Bullard actually served.
Various details of World War I fighter aircraft technology shown in the film were inaccurate. For example, the aircraft engines in the CGI scenes are pictured as not moving. The rotary engines used in early aircraft rotated along with the propeller at the same speed. This mistake is mainly due to the fact that the Nieuport and Fokker aircraft used in the movie are flying replicas built with new radial engines. This detail can be briefly seen in the final combat when the black Fokker is taking off after Rowling's ground attack at the German airfield.
Another error is that the American pilots are operating the Nieuport 17 , while the Germans are operating the Fokker Dr. I which entered front line service some time after the Nieuport 17 was no longer operational.
The singular use of Fokker Tri planes, which were not in widespread operational use is contentious and almost every Tri plane was also painted red in the film, indicating that the Tri plane was in Jasta 11, the "all-red" unit.
Its leader, Manfred von Richthoten the "Red Baron", flew four "blood-red" Tri planes (although undersurfaces remained blue).The Red Baron was killed by an anti-aircraft gunner on the ground on April 21, 1918 flying low above the Somme valley. On the director/producer commentary track for the DVD release, Producer Dean Devlin noted that they were aware that this predominant use of red trip lanes was historically inaccurate, but wanted to give clear visual signals to the audience to enable them to easily distinguish friend from foe in the aerial sequences. Flyboys tells the story of American fliers who join the French air force before the U.S. enters the war. Each character is a walking stereotype, from the guy who loses his nerve, to the guy who may be a spy, to the rich kid with the unfeeling dad. This movie I thought would be a lot
better.