MOVIE OF THE WEEK (1/20/12): RED TAILS
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Elijah Kelley, Andre Royo, Tristan Wilds, Marcus T. Paulk, Ne-Yo, Michael B. Jordan, Leslie Odom, Jr., Kevin Phillips, Terrence Howard, Lee Tergensen, Bryan Cranston, Daniela Ruah, Clifford "Method Man" Smith and Cuba Gooding, Jr.
WRITER(S): John Ridley & Aaron McGruder (screenplay); John Ridley (story)
DIRECTOR: Anthony Hemingway
THE PLOT: A story executive producer George Lucas (yup, THAT guy!) has been trying to bring to the silver screen for nearly two decades, Red Tails tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen. A group of African-American soldiers who were recruited for and lived out the greatest adventure of their lives as fighter pilots in the United States Armed Forces during World War II – getting to the skies, however, was no easy mission.
The film picks up with a group of the Airmen stationed in Europe, where Major Emmanuel Stance (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) is holding down the fort, awaiting word from Colonel A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard) on what the men's next move will be. You see, at this point in time, the boys have only been called upon for what adds up to mop-up duty, patrolling areas where the enemy hasn't been seen in months and/or no real action is. This is fine, of course, with Marty "Easy" Julian (Nate Parker), the squad leader who drinks to deal with the stress in his life ... Which often comes in the form of fellow pilot Joe "Lightning" Little (David Oyelowo), who is as confident as he is reckless (which is to say, very).
While Joe has his sights set on getting to know Italy better – especially when it comes to ladies like Sofia (Daniela Ruah) – Junior (Tristan Wilds) just want to prove he belongs in the air. Also in the mix are Smokey (Ne-Yo), who just enjoys being around the guys and playing his guitar, Joker (Elijah Kelley), a level-headed fellow for the most part, and young pilots Deke (Marcus T. Paulk), the spiritual Maurice (Michael H. Jordan), Neon (Kevin Phillips) and the outspoken Winky (Leslie Odom Jr.). Coffee (Andre Royo) and Sticks (Method Man), the base's two main repairmen, just want the guys to quit beating up their planes so much.
Eventually, after proving themselves little by little, Bullard, Stance and the rest of the squadron get the opportunity they've been waiting for – escorting bombers into battle into German territory. The mission is one that, if all goes well, will prove that African Americans can fight just as well (if not better) than their white counterparts. If not, it could mean the complete failure of the Tuskegee program ... And result in the loss of their own lives as well ...
THE TAKE: Red Tails is one of the films you walk into hoping that you're going to love it. If you are African American (as I am), you might even almost feel obliged to do so given the well-documented trouble getting made and the pain-staking efforts Lucas went through to see the project through to its completion. (It's on the Internet if you want to read it; I'm just here to talk about the film itself.) Well, I'm here to tell you the truth about the film and in this case, it's a hard truth, too ...
For Red Tails is not a classic story of triumph it should be; in fact, one might go as far as to say it's not even that great of a movie, period.
Where o' where to begin with the problems with Red Tails? Well, let's start with the story - which can't figure out if it wants to be an action movie, a historical (albeit a VERY heavy-handed one) tribute or, in the case of two roles in particular, a character-driven piece about the evolving friendship of two different-but-not-so-really men. Throw in the love story between Sofia and Joe and the film loses focus several times throughout its nearly 2 hour run time ...
SPOILER ALERT - STOP HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT A MAJOR PLOT POINT REVEALED!
This would not be so bad, however, if the John Ridley and Aaron McGruder (of The Boondocks fame) hadn't gotten together with director Anthony Hemingway and somehow convinced Lucas it was OK to kill off the most interesting character (and arguably, best presented sub story) in the film at the end. The scenario completely sucks all the life out of the film and ends it on downer note when all of its momentum had been building for a much more upbeat turn, almost in a giant 'You like this character, people? Well watch this!' move to the audience.
Of course, had Parker's character been likable (he's not), his drinking explained and cultivated better to draw you deeper into his life, motivations and struggles (it's not), this might not be such a problem. It's not to say Parker is a bad actor - he's not. Gooding, Jr. seals his "actor hamming it up on a near Al Pacino post-Scent of a Woman" award in every scene he's in, doing his absolute best to make you notice how badly someone on the level of a Denzel Washington and/or Morgan Freeman is sorely missing from the role.
Throw in a first act that feels like a made for TV movie, very poor characterizations of the white characters in the film (who are either [a] Blatantly racist on a cartoonish level for the sake of it or [b] Somehow become extremely nice after black people help them out of a jam and they learn their life lesson in such a sugary sweet method it becomes the equivalent of celluloid diabetes. (Sorry, but it had to be said.) Instead of a deep, well told tale, we get a haphazard one that tries to do too much without doing any one thing well – and the result is the film suffering as a whole.
PARTING SHOT: While the film does a good job of capturing the combat dangers the Airmen faced, it does a terribly poor one of bringing home the groundbreaking nature of what they were doing outside of their planes - and that is the real tragedy of Red Tails. For if your going to make a movie based on a group of heroes that feels nowhere near as authentic as the true valor of its subjects, the opportunity - much like this film - is mostly lost.
For Red Tails is not a classic story of triumph it should be; in fact, one might go as far as to say it's not even that great of a movie, period.
Where o' where to begin with the problems with Red Tails? Well, let's start with the story - which can't figure out if it wants to be an action movie, a historical (albeit a VERY heavy-handed one) tribute or, in the case of two roles in particular, a character-driven piece about the evolving friendship of two different-but-not-so-really men. Throw in the love story between Sofia and Joe and the film loses focus several times throughout its nearly 2 hour run time ...
SPOILER ALERT - STOP HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT A MAJOR PLOT POINT REVEALED!
This would not be so bad, however, if the John Ridley and Aaron McGruder (of The Boondocks fame) hadn't gotten together with director Anthony Hemingway and somehow convinced Lucas it was OK to kill off the most interesting character (and arguably, best presented sub story) in the film at the end. The scenario completely sucks all the life out of the film and ends it on downer note when all of its momentum had been building for a much more upbeat turn, almost in a giant 'You like this character, people? Well watch this!' move to the audience.
Of course, had Parker's character been likable (he's not), his drinking explained and cultivated better to draw you deeper into his life, motivations and struggles (it's not), this might not be such a problem. It's not to say Parker is a bad actor - he's not. Gooding, Jr. seals his "actor hamming it up on a near Al Pacino post-Scent of a Woman" award in every scene he's in, doing his absolute best to make you notice how badly someone on the level of a Denzel Washington and/or Morgan Freeman is sorely missing from the role.
Throw in a first act that feels like a made for TV movie, very poor characterizations of the white characters in the film (who are either [a] Blatantly racist on a cartoonish level for the sake of it or [b] Somehow become extremely nice after black people help them out of a jam and they learn their life lesson in such a sugary sweet method it becomes the equivalent of celluloid diabetes. (Sorry, but it had to be said.) Instead of a deep, well told tale, we get a haphazard one that tries to do too much without doing any one thing well – and the result is the film suffering as a whole.
PARTING SHOT: While the film does a good job of capturing the combat dangers the Airmen faced, it does a terribly poor one of bringing home the groundbreaking nature of what they were doing outside of their planes - and that is the real tragedy of Red Tails. For if your going to make a movie based on a group of heroes that feels nowhere near as authentic as the true valor of its subjects, the opportunity - much like this film - is mostly lost.
RATING (OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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