There's a problem that exists in most war films, especially modern ones. No matter what the plot is, they're always ignored halfway through the movie to make way for familiar elements: Brutal battles and heightened drama between the good ol' boys. Saving Private Ryan is an example of this. Which do you remember most -- the plot involving a missing brother, or the many gore-riffic deaths and male bonding?
A story is relatively dispensable in a war film, yet they're still needed because they keep us interested. They string together all those cliches, so that at least we know where the film is going. That's why they still bother with plots.
Now enter Flyboys, a movie that has no plot. No, that's not one of my usual smarmy remarks. It literally has no plot. Seriously. Even the awful Pearl Harbor had a plot -- something about Kate Beckinsale getting double-teamed -- but Flyboys has the plot of a video game. I'm talking Space Invaders video game.
Here's what happens: a group of American kids go to France for various personal reasons to join the Laffayette Escadrille -- a group of bi-plane fighters in World War I -- and then they fly planes and battle Germans. Is there an ultimate goal? Is there an objective they have to pursue? A village to protect? A German general they have to kill? Heck, a missing brother to save, at least? Nope. What happens is that every 20 minutes or so, Jean Reno shows up as a goofy Escadrille Captain and gives the boys something to do. "Here, blow up this Zeppelin." "Here, shoot down these planes." Over and over until the movie ends, while we watch these boys die one by one in each "level".
I honestly had no idea when the movie was going to end. It seems like they could have ended the film anytime and it wouldn't make any difference. They could've even added another hour to the film just by adding more "levels". Why would it matter?
Sure, there are fillers between the plane battles, but they're about as bland as the "Insert more coins" screen in a video game. Our main character Rawlings (James Franco) falls in love with a French girl, creating a love story that's neither cute or has anything to do with the rest of the movie. Is he risking his military status by being with her? Is he defying orders? Neglecting duties? Does she cause him to rethink his life, his future, or his involvement in the war? Nope. Just something to do (read: bang) between shooting up Germans. The other guys are textbook war film caricatures. You have the rich snob who is brought down to earth, the guy with a girlfriend back home, and the tough loner who's good at his job. Hilarious.
The character of Skinner (Abdul Salis) is based on a real person from the Escadrille, so it's hard to call him a token black character, but he really doesn't serve any purpose whatsoever other than to awkwardly insert a misplaced message of tolerance in a movie that has absolutely nothing to do with that. The issue of racism is brought up and settled in just two scenes. One, when another character reveals his discomfort towards negroes -- something that's not uncommon back then, so I don't know why he's singled out as the sole bigot -- and two, when said character learns his lesson and has a tender moment with Skinner. Why even bother?
Of course, every cheesy adventure story needs a dastardly sinister villain. Here, that villain is The Black Falcon, a German fighter pilot who for some reason flies a black plane even though the others fly red ones. It's unsure why. Maybe he's so evil, his red plane turned black. We don't know, because we don't know anything about this Black Falcon. He's just a phantom pilot who appears randomly throughout the movie to cause ruckus for our heroes. You know, like Bowser in Mario Party (Man, I can't stop with the video game analogies!).
It's really a shame that this movie sucks. In a climate populated by the same old World War II films again and again, we're due for a kick-ass WWI film, especially one that recalls the classic Howard Hughes aviation pictures. I expected something of that nature, or even something utterly silly a la Stealth. It's neither. There are a couple of cool moments in the dogfights, but mostly it's just bland. They're too staged and CGI-ed to take seriously, but not over the top enough to let us have fun with them.
No plot, a forgettable love story, and unimaginative action scenes. Forget planes. These pilots are flying turkeys.
"Flyboys" opens September 22, 2006 and is rated PG13. Action, Drama, War. Directed by Tony Bill. Written by Blake T. Evans, Phil Sears, David S. Ward. Starring David Ellison, James Franco, Jean Reno, Jennifer Decker, Philip Winchester, Tyler Labine.
