These are not the Tuskegee Airmen you're looking for. George Lucas has spent a the last twenty years developing his film based on the real life, genuine African-American hero fighter pilots, the first of their kind to ever serve in the US military. That may be true. He's certainly been quite vocal about his desire to see this film succeed, and has put a lot of pressure on African-Americans in particular to make that happen. The problem is that the Tuskegee Airmen's story is about more than just cool planes and aerial dogfights, but that's the only thing Red Tails seems to be interested in. Featuring a great young cast of up and coming black actors, Red Tails has the talent, historical significance, and the special effects to do justice, but a woefully inept script, bad casting decisions, and a shocking similarity to Star Wars turn it into a sad joke.
Beginning with a fairly famous 1925 military case study explaining how blacks were inferior to whites in pretty much every way but especially in combat, Red Tails takes place in the thick of WWII, when an all black fighter squadron stationed in Italy is basically performing clean up duty but never seeing any real action. The squad is led by Martin "Easy" Julian(Nate Parker), presumably straight as an arrow but hiding an alcohol addiction. His best friend is the reckless Joe "Lightning" Little, who bags chicks and throws caution to the wind at every opportunity, putting his life and that of his squad in danger. Everybody gets a cool nickname, every body is little more than a stereotype you've seen from old war films or Top Gun. Religious guy, the young rookie, the prankster, and the cranky old mechanic who whines if some German dares put a bullet hole through his precious planes.
All they want is an opportunity to see some actual combat, but the top brass see them as a lost cause. Fighting for them to get one real shot to prove themselves is Colonel AJ Bullard(Terrence Howard), who goes toe-to-toe with his all white superiors(led by a sneering Bryan Cranston). By his side is Major Emanuel Stance(Cuba Gooding Jr.), with his comically silly pipe permanently attached to his lips. Howard and Gooding are a spectacularly poor choice to play grizzled old war veterans, and authority figures in general. Gooding, who once long ago made a deal with the devil to get an Academy Award, couldn't look more out of place, and looks like he's struggling to figure out how an old soldier would behave. He ends up being out acted by his pipe, to be perfectly honest. Howard, with his voice that is nothing but treble and no bass, keeps getting cast as soldiers(his character in Iron Man was as well) even though it's a role he's clearly uncomfortable with. Would you go into battle behind him? Imagine Howard and his mousy demeanor giving the Braveheart speech. Yeah, didn't think so.
It's no big secret the the men of the 332nd Fighter Group finally got their big chance, and proved to be more than capable pilots, but one of the most successful in military history. And according to the story presented here, they did it without much of a problem. But that's the major issue with the script by the usually reliable John Ridley and Aaron MacGruder(The Boondocks), in that it's perfectly fine for one of Lucas' Star Wars flicks, but it's too trite and incomplete for the Tuskegee Airmen. The racism they faced at home is shown in the most simplistic manner possible. When Lightning walks into a bar at the beginning of the film, you already know he's going to get into a fight with the white officers. Institutionalized racism? Eh, just another momentary hurdle, and once the squad proves their mettle everything is perfectly fine. All problems solved. The Germans are little more than Imperial soldiers with a similar wardrobe, snarling their disdain and shouting their superiority through a hail of gunfire.
The stark good vs. evil motif is perfectly fine for Star Wars, and maybe that's what Lucas was looking for all along. Many will compliment the special effects in the dogfighting sequences, and for good reason. They are a masterful showcase of digital precision. The camera struggles to keep up with the breakneck speed, the sweet aerial theatrics, and the booms of jet engines embroiled in games of aerial showmanship. They are amazing and often exhilarating, and although Anthony Hemingway is a fine television director, you can't convince me that Lucas didn't take over the fight scenes. If this was The Empire Strikes Back and these were Tie Fighters we'd be blown away by them, but it's not. It looks and sounds like something out of a sci-fi flick, and that takes away from any sense of danger. What we get is Tuskegee Airmen: The Video Game.
Clocking in at well over two hours, there are a number of poorly developed and cliched subplots that should've been left on the cutting room floor. One particularly annoying one is Lightning's comical courtship of an Italian woman(apparently the only one in town) he once saw on her balcony while flying high over head. Another is Lightning's apparent alcoholism, which is constantly referenced but never actually seems to affect him in combat.
Red Tails is like a Saturday Night Live sketch about what a Tuskegee Airmen movie would look like if made by the guy who made Star Wars, and then somebody had the guts to actually make that film. There are better movies on the subject out there than this, so if you're interested in their story go seek them out.
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