Flyboys is inspired by the courageous tale of the American young men who would become known as the legendary Lafayette Escadrille. They were ordinary boys who volunteered for the first World War looking for adventure, and in the process, they became heroes. In 1917, prior to the official entry into the war by the United States, the Allied powers of France, England and Italy were on the ropes against the German juggernaut. Some altruistic young Americans volunteered to fight alongside their counterparts in France. Some joined the infantry, others chose the Ambulance Corps. But 38 young men had a different idea: they decided to learn how to fly. Their motivations for enlisting may have been different: Blaine Rawlings (James Franco) is searching for his purpose following the bank's foreclosure of his family ranch, Briggs Lowry (Tyler Labine) is shamed into joining by his disciplinarian father, while African-American expatriate boxer Eugene Skinner (Abdul Salis) vows to repay his debt to his adopted, racially-tolerant country. But under the command of French Captain Thenault (Jean Reno) and the leadership of American veteran Reed Cassidy (Martin Henderson), these young American men took to the air with honor everyday as they risked their lives, not just in facing the formidable German aggressors, but also in boarding their newly-invented, mechanically-imperfect aircraft, which were being used in combat for the first time.
I'm not really sure why this movie was released (and left very soon after) in theaters so quietly. This was a very good movie. The story was great . . . . . and a true story! The flying scenes and the effects were awesome. Even the acting from a pretty lame overall group of actors was better than I expected. If this movie was better marketed - this probably could have been a really good box office draw. I don't understand what the studio was thinking here at all.
I would recommend this movie for rental. It was a really good surprise of a rental for me. I didn't expect to like it nearly as much as I did.
