« Back to all posts in FilmOlogy

'Red Tails' Lands Proudly In The Middle Of The Road

Film Rundown:

Genre:

Drama

Parental Rating:

Director:

Anthony Hemingway

Starring:

Cuba Gooding Jr., Gerald McRaney and David Oyelowo

Runtime:

121

Our rating:

B+

by The Ology Team .

On Jan 21, 2012

Did anyone catch George Lucas on The Daily Show proclaiming that major film studios balked at financing and marketing Red Tails because of its all-black cast? What a crock of sh*t. That Lucas has the balls to pretend like he doesn't have enough money to make, market, and distribute whatever he wants until 2077 is astounding enough. No, here he actually attempts to camouflage his peers' disdain for his crappy movie by playing the race card. A class act through and though, this guy.

Just the other day, I was talking about the importance of tone. In the end, it isn't insubstantial characters or hackneyed dialogue that brings Red Tails down (though it has plenty of that), but its ironclad embrace of a grinning, jingoistic spirit. Every scene seems to take place on the same sunny day. Every aerial battle seems to contain the same tearjerking beats. In his account of the brave Tuskegee pilots of World War II, director Anthony Hemingway relentlessly alternates back and forth between these two options for two solid hours. The result isn't exactly punishing, but it's monotonous as all get out.

Truth be told, Red Tails isn't a bad movie, just an alarmingly mediocre one. Though you might regret seeing it in theaters, I imagine you'll warmly embrace catching it on cable on some perfectly rainy Sunday. It's the kind of film that washes over you without leaving the faintest impression. Methinks the Tuskegee Airmen deserved better.

SumOlogy: I will never love/hate any man more than I do George Lucas.

Connect with other Filmologists on My.Ology and follow me on Twitter.