Red Tails

Actors:  Cuba Gooding Jr., David Oyelowo, Terrence Howard, Nate Parker, Michael B Jordan, Andre Royo,
Rating:  8 out of 10, I missed this movie in the theaters and due to the recent poor luck with buying films unseen I checked this out as a Netflix rental.  I hadn’t heard anything good about this movie so I wasn’t expecting much and was truly pleased with how well done it was.  I’m in the middle of watching the final season of The Wire and many of the same actors show up in this movie which made it even more enjoyable – like seeing old friends.  There’s been a lot written about the real world heroes who flew as African-American pilots in World War 2 but this was the most enjoyable I’ve seen.  Most of the other movies about the Tuskegee airman focus on the social struggle they faced and give short shrift to the combat action which is where they ultimately proved their worth and validated their place as icons of US military heroism.  This movie rectifies that in a big way as the action is almost non-stop and the aerial combat scenes are breathtaking.  George Lucas was involved in this and you can see the special effects expertise manifest itself in the dogfights.  The writing is a little more lightweight but this is a fantastic group of actors who elevate the work above the content even though some 21^st century lingo does sneak in (obviously (hopefully) ad libs).  The only miss in the cast was Oyelowo who was not convincing as the supposedly brash guy.  He didn’t strike me as very American and after watching the film I learned he was British.  With so many talented American actors surrounding him he just didn’t come across as genuine.  It was great to see a movie about African-Americans that allowed them to be action heroes and not beat the audience over the head with the message of racial equality.  The message is there but rightfully and accurately demonstrated by the combat prowess of the pilots.  The first hour of the movie is riveting and while the plot gets bogged down in the last half this is still a very well done and fitting tribute to some of the greatest Americans to ever wear the uniform.  While I was serving I had the honor to meet some of the actual Tuskegee airman and they were some of the nicest, most self-effacing gentlemen I ever met, true heroes.  This movie soars and will soon occupy a position on my movie shelf.
MVP:  Howard as Colonel Bullard in a small but important part as the leader of the Red Tails