Flyboys (Collector's Edition)
MGM
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In 1914, "The Great War" --WWI--began in Europe. By 1917, the Allied powers of France, England, Italy and others were on the ropes against the German juggernaut. Some altruistic young Americans disagreed with the war. They volunteered to fight alongside their counterparts in France; some in the infantry, some in the Ambulance Corps. A handful of others had a different idea: they decided to learn how to fly. The first of them--a squadron of only 38-- became known as the Lafayette Escadrille. This is their story. Forced to abandon his family's ranch, Blaine Rawlings finds his future in a newsreel chronicling the adventures of young aviators in France. At a small train station in rural Nebraska, William Jensen promises to make his family proud. In New York, spoiled Briggs Lowry embarks on a trans-Atlantic passage. Meanwhile, in France, black expatriate boxer, Eugene Skinner, vows to repay his debt to his adopted racially tolerant country. Together, these American boys arrive at an aerodrome in France, eager to learn how to fly. What they didn't realize was that they were about to embark on a great, romantic adventure, becoming the world's first combat pilots.

Flyboys is the best of Pearl Harbor meeting the worst of HBO's Band of Brothers. Its got lots of excellent wartime action sequences but the drama is tedious and horribly predictable.

Like the title suggests, the draw of Flyboys is in the aerial stuff. It also appears this is where the majority of the attention went in the production end of things. The action is of a very high standard, using special effects without going overboard. The result is an impressive collection of high-flying scenes. Of particular interest is the fact that these are the earliest of planes from a war that hasn't spawned as many films as its historical sequel.

However, all the great action can't help the fact that Flyboys is dreadfully boring when it's not airborne. The script stays so close to formula that I was not only able to guess early on who would live and who would die, but the order in which it happened and even, at times, the circumstances around it.

Video: How's it look?
Picture quality is important to any film, but it really stands out in a big action movie. While Flyboys might not qualify as a classic, it does have some impressive action sequences. The widescreen (2.35:1 aspect ratio) picture meets expectations. It's clear and crisp in all the right ways.

Audio: How's it sound?
With both Dolby 5.1 Surround and DTS 5.1 audio, this DVD throws you into the middle of the aerial dog fights. There's also French and Spanish Dolby Surround.

Extras: What additional goodies are included?

• The audio commentary by director Tony Bill and producer Dean Devlin mixes discussion surrounding the making of the film and the history behind the story.
• "Real Heroes: The Lafayette Escadrille" uses crew and historical interviews to piece together the back story of the film's central group of men.
• "Diary of a Miniature Stunt Pilot" is a hilarious first-puppet account of the creation of the miniature planes used in the movie's action sequences.
• Cat fans will get a kick out of "Whiskey and Soda: The Lion Mascots."
• Special effects get their due with "Taking Flight: The Making of Aerial Battle Sequences."
• "The Real Planes of Flyboys" provides a historical account of World War I aircrafts.
• "The Flyboys Ride With the Air Force Thunderbirds and the Navy Blue Angels" is a video diary of sorts as the film's actors team with the military and do a little flying.
• The DVD-ROM game Flyboys Squadron is a nice little time waster, although I found it rather confusing and pretty primitive looking.
• Six deleted scenes totaling about 15 minutes.
• Theatrical trailer.
• Trailers for Copying Beethoven, The Last King of Scotland, The Illusionist and Home of the Brave.
• English and Spanish subtitles.

Closing Thoughts
Flyboys has its moments, primarily in the action department. The drama -- not so good. The two-disc Collector's Edition DVD provides a solid batch of extras that look at several aspects of the film, both expected and unexpected.


Review brought to you by our friend Ryan @ Movie-Views.com