Flyboys

2006

Action / Adventure / Drama / History / Romance / War

52
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 33% · 129 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 66% · 50K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.5/10 10 44290 44.3K

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Plot summary

The adventures of the Lafayette Escadrille, young Americans who volunteered for the French military before the U.S. entered World War I, and became the country's first fighter pilots.


Uploaded by: OTTO
August 26, 2012 at 05:21 AM

Director

Top cast

James Franco as Blaine Rawlings
Martin Henderson as Reed Cassidy
Michael Jibson as Lyle Porter
Jean Reno as Capt. Thenault
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
851.35 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
PG-13
23.976 fps
2 hr 20 min
Seeds 6
1.80 GB
1920*1080
English 2.0
PG-13
23.976 fps
2 hr 20 min
Seeds 14

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by ma-cortes 7 / 10

Spectacular and colorful WWI airplane movie with an enjoyable cast and breathtaking aerial battles

This film's opening prologue states:"By the start of 1916, World War I had wreaked havoc across Europe. Over nine million people would eventually die. Although the airplane had only recently been invented, it was quickly adapted into a war machine. The young men who flew them became the first fighter pilots and a new kind of hero was born." The adventures of the Lafayette Escadrille, young Americans who volunteered for the French military before the U.S. entered World War I, and became the country's first fighter pilots. Among them , Blaine Rawlings (James Franco) , Eugene Skinner (Abdul Salis) , William Jensen (Philip Winchester), Beagle (David Ellison) and Reed Cassidy (Martin Henderson , Reed was mainly inspired by Raoul Lufbery whose personal insignia is an eagle's head surrounded by the words "Je Vois Tout" meaning "I see all") , the leading flying ace of the Escadrille Squadron (similarly to film , the real Lafayette Escadrille actually had a pair of lion cubs as mascots).

Spectacular dogfighting , colorful scenario , all-star cast and memorable acting . Big-budget extended adventures produced by Dean Devlin about a maverick pilot and his partners undergoing risked feats on air and bombing on earth . Based on a story by Blake Evans and being well adapted by Phil Sears and David S Ward . Very good aerial actioner plenty action , steamy romance , drama , fantastic cloudy scenes and spectacular dogfighting . James Franco shows professionalism as a crack fighter pilot , he plays an ambitious youth assigned to dangerous missions , Franco even earned his pilot's license in preparation for this film . Top-notch support cast gives excellent performances as Jean Reno as a stiff officer , Philip Winchester , Tim Pigott Smith , David Ellison and a gorgeous Jennifer Decker . Special mention to Abdul Salis whose character of Skinner is based on the Escadrille-pilot Eugene Bullard, an American who has gone to France and worked as a boxer there, he was also a son of a slave, just like Skinner .

Rousing aerial scenes spectacularly staged , though in excessive use of digital effects , being the first movie to motion capture planes. Filmmakers attempted to use lightweight reproductions of WWI aircraft, but grounded them after an accident. Wonderfully photographed by Henry Braham and marvelous musical score by Trevor Ravin are the chief assets of this spectacular film . As no studios would back the film, a group of filmmakers and investors including producer 'Dean Devlin ' and according to press-releases "ace pilot" David Ellison, son of Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison, spent more than $60 million of their own money to make and market this film. This lavish airplane movie was professionally directed by Tony Bill . 'Flyboys' is a rehash of the former airplane movie clichés in which the splendid casting stands out . Rating : Good and entertaining , it's a fairly watchable and breathtaking film and results to be a good treatment of WWI flying aces .

Reviewed by Theo Robertson 4 / 10

The Historical Adviser For This Film Was Later Jailed

Interesting that there's so many negative comments about this film involving accuracy on all levels . The historical adviser is one Jack Livesey , a battle hardened veteran of the British Army who did several tours of Northern Ireland and won the coveted Military Medal during the 1982 Falklands conflict where he served with the 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment . You name it Livesey has seen it , done it and written the book about it so it's only fitting the likes of Hollywood should employ a real warrior like Livesey if they're making a nihilistic film about the slaughter of millions and FLYBOYS is the result . The fact that it's a plane crash of a movie is mainly down to Livesey who made headlines of his own five years later when he found himself up in court

As it transpired Livesey who claimed he was the military adviser on SAVING PRIVATE RYAN , BAND OF BROTHERS and a host of other Hollywood blockbusters was fraudulently claiming incapacity benefit in 2004 . He bigged himself that he was a traumatised war veteran who had seen so much death and destruction on countless battlefields in his military career of over 20 years the judge treated him kindly . The problem was it later came to light his military career was confined to the Catering Corps from the end of 1971 to the start of 1974 when he was discharged under services no longer required . The lies he told in court led to him being charged for perverting the course of justice and in 2011 Livesey was sentenced to three years in jail

Watching FLYBOYS the only film that employed Livesey as a historical adviser - and no before you ask SPR and BOB had Dale Dyer as historical adviser not Livesey - you wonder how stupid the producers were to employ him . I'm pretty sure the average schoolboy is better informed about the first world war than anyone who worked on this big budget flop such as the Germans not having spiked helmets or significant amounts of tanks in 1917

It's the laws of physics being continually broken that rankle more than anything . The planes seen here resemble the spaceships seen in STAR WARS rather than the ones seen in WW1 They can fly in a straight dive then suddenly manage to pull out of the dive five feet from the ground . A shell exploding mere inches from the aircraft causes no damage whatsoever and ditto being shot by several hundred bullets

Even from a narrative point of view supposedly inspired by true events FLYBOYS gives way to cloying cliché similar to that in PEARL HARBOR . When neutral Americans cross the Atlantic to join democratic Europe in the fight against aggression and shout " Get me in to a goddamn plane . I think world war one has just started " you know what's coming next . Nice to know that FLYBOYS cost $60 million and recouped $13 million at the US box office . Maybe the should have used the accountant as historical adviser and put Jack Livesey in charge of production costs . It would have made for a more realistic and better film

Reviewed by SonOfMoog 7 / 10

Lafayette Escadrille

This is the story of American volunteers who fought for the French during World War I before America entered the war. It is based on a true story, and largely faithful to that story. The first world war was the first "ugly" war. It is the first war where, as one of the characters observes, "Neither side will win. It will just end." And, this movie does not shrink away from showing the horror, the ugliness, and the overwhelming grimness of war.

Because the special effects made it possible, more than any movie in recent memory, it graphically shows the excitement and the adrenaline rush of combat flying. The combat sequences are nothing short of dazzling; they were so good I could experience vicariously the rush of bullets tearing through cloth fuselages, the spins and turns, and dips and climbs, and barrel rolls, and dives, and with all that, I could look inside myself and know I did not have the courage to do what they did. In the end, that's what this story is about, and the love story, the individual pilot lives fade into the background.

Still, it's worth noting, one of the movie's best moments is the denouement where we learn what happened to the Americans of the Lafayette Escadrille, those who survived. I won't spoil it for you, just know that truth is stranger than fiction, and often a good deal sadder. I enjoyed Flyboys for what it was: the chance to vicariously experience the adrenaline rush of aerial combat. Performances were good, and Jean Reno was great as the captain of the Lafayette Escadrille. Nice popcorn flick.

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