Flyboys (2006)

"...cinematic comfort food...  Glenn Kenny, Premiere
"...highly enjoyable...  Scott Foundas, LA Weekly
"...straightforward and ingratiating...  Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Editor's Note FLYBOYS is a good old-fashioned historical drama concerning the Lafayette Escadrille, a French regiment of American volunteer airmen serving the allied cause in WWI before the U.S. became officially involved. James Franco plays Blaine, a Texas rancher; he bunks with Eugene (Abdul Salis), an African American boxer whose been living in Paris as an ex-patriate to get away from American racism. Other fighters include a pampered New York scion (Tyler Labine) and a lanky, lazy Kansan (David Ellison). They all train under the patient hand of the French commander, succinctly embodied by the wondrous Jean Reno (THE PROFESSIONAL). Martin Henderson (TORQUE) is good and brusque as a jaded flier with a bunch of kills under his belt and an obsession with an ace German fighter; he wont let the new kids drink in the officer's club until they've shot down their first planes. It all unfolds in a no-nonsense linear narrative that reminds one of early films like THE DAWN PATROL (1930) and WINGS (1927); and there's a comfortingly familiar orchestral score that's heavy with the cloud-invoking wooden flute. But the CGI-enhanced aerial dogfight scenes are the crux of the biscuit here, and history fans should be frothing at the mouth with all the zeppelins, dogfights and enemy chivalry. There's plenty of well-researched period detail and even some ooh-la la romance in the form of a good girl gone semi-bad from a nearby brothel (the very charming Jennifer Decker).

	James Franco
	Jean Reno
	Philip Winchester
	Scott Hazell
	Blake T. Evans, et. al. - Writer
	Chris Blunden - Editor
	David Brown - Executive Producer
	Dean Devlin - Producer
	Henry Braham - Cinematographer
	Matthew Gray - Art Director
	Philip Elton - Art Director
	Ron Rosen - Editor
	Tony Bill - Director
	Trevor Rabin - Original Music By

New York Times
"FLYBOYS is ever so nice, in the manner of a Norman Rockwell illustration....[The director] is a gentleman, moving things along with a tidy, well-mannered hand." 09/22/2006 p.E8

Ultimate DVD
4 stars out of 5 -- "Like TOP GUN with biplanes, this hugely fun movie has plenty of eye-catching dogfights..." 03/01/2007 p.111

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he airborne action whips up enough G-force to make this old-school war yarn an enjoyable throwback to the likes of WINGS and HELL'S ANGELS." 07/01/2007 p.39

Los Angeles Times 6 of 10
Just about everything in the video-gamey World War I picture "Flyboys" rings false, although the planes certainly are terrific. The film takes a strong subject, the Americans who volunteered for the French as aviators in the Lafayette Escadrille, and turns it into romantic slush. Good thing Jean Reno's around to give it some flavor: As the real-life Capt. Thenault, the stalwart French actor goes about his expositional business with gruff panache. You believe this man exists in a 1916 universe. Too many of the other, younger cast members are about as 1916 as "The O.C."...Leading a generic character roster, Franco's laconic Texan may be more smug than stalwart, but so is the movie. A tie-in Flyboys video game is now available, designed to coincide with the film's release. I guarantee that script will be better than this one. - Michael Phillips

Variety 7 of 10
"Flyboys" is an old-fashioned, boys' adventure version of an arresting chapter in World War I history about the enterprising bunch of young Americans who flew with the French before the United States entered the war. Lovingly and knowledgeably made by director Tony Bill, who got his pilot's license as a teenager, pic nonetheless has a lightweight, airbrushed feel; despite the brutal dogfights and inevitable deaths, there's little gravity or resonance...Franco's carryover James Dean posings early on serve his character's gruff coverup of a wounded soul, but the actor is best when he smiles and becomes personable...Shot in England, pic is handsomely and credibly appointed in all departments. - Todd McCarthy