According to a U.S. Army study conducted in the 1920’s, African Americans are mentally unfit to be soldiers and pilots, lacking the strength, wit, and courage to perform their duties. It also claims that they cannot complete orders that require complex thought and are mere cowards by nature. On the contrary, those people prove their daring and patriotism, regardless of popular belief.
Of course, the people I’m referring to is the famous Tuskegee Airmen, as shown on Lucasfilm’s latest project, Red Tails. Directed by Anthony Hemingway and adapted from a screenplay by John Ridley and Aaron McGruder with George Lucas as executive producer, the film portrays their services during the latter years of World War II.
Martin “Easy” Julian (Nate Parker) and his squad get the chance to experience the war, but only by taking out small convoys and patrols using worn out aircraft in Italy. Despite being successful in their missions, they can’t escape the feeling that they may never get to take on the Axis’ best pilots or to participate in more crucial assignments. This garners the attention of Major Emanuel Stance (Cuba Gooding Jr.) and Colonel A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard), confronting a military bureaucracy whose decisions is held back by racial segregation.
After much deliberation, the squad is chosen to support the Allies on Operation Shingle, to help secure the beachheads on Anzio and Nettuno. The mission is successful, but one of the pilots, the skillful Joe “Lightning” Little (David Oyelowo), suggests to follow a German pilot back to an airfield and destroy it. In the end, they prove their worth and are ready for another challenge.
This is where the conflict between “Lightning” and his commanding officer, “Easy”, come into play: “Lightning” has a tendency to disobey and complete the mission as he intends to, outside of spending time with a certain Italian woman, and “Easy” is unsure of his decisions and often drinks to compensate for the guilt. Afterward, the Tuskegee Airmen show their true colors by taking part in escort missions, replacing pilots who prefer glory instead of the mission.
Red Tails is action-packed: the dogfight scenes are very exciting and in-between scenes of dialogue, there are plenty of bullets, explosions, and speed. The computer-generated imagery is impressive and fun to watch. It’s also refreshing to see an all-black cast, though Hollywood isn’t always inclined to agree, based on the 23-year-long production. Unfortunately, despite having high production value, dialogue is somewhat cheesy, even though it provides a good chuckle or two, and the tone of the film suggests that German pilots are as evil as Imperial stormtroopers from Star Wars.
In the end, Red Tails is not bad, but it’s an average war movie that glorifies action-adventure movies from the 1940’s and 1950’s. Perhaps, one day, George Lucas could return to making ambitious, quality films again without having to deal with production issues. Until then, if you’re into action that doesn’t take itself too seriously, leave your brain at the door and enjoy.
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