Flyboys (2006)

Flyboys

The Good:
The dogfights were pretty cool, and honestly, that's all I really wanted to see. Had it been an hour and a half of biplane vs triplane action, I would have been happy.
The setting was great, the french countryside is beauiful (or wherever they were shooting).
The actions and reactions of the characters varied a good deal, that seemed to add to the realism.
It showed the horror of the Great War while also showing the type of restained nobility that is often romanticized in accounts of WWI.
Did I mention the dogfights :-)

The Bad:
The plot seemed to thrust the characters into the thick of it without a lot of character development (but they do develop as the story progresses).
I didn't care for the music... it didn't seem to fit in some places and in others it caused what would have otherwise been a decent dramatic scene to teeter on the edge of melodrama.
It was a little predictable.

Overall: It reminded me of an older film with contemporary effects, romance and high flying action. It is well worth seeing, but don't expect a Platoon or a Saving Private Ryan.

***The Great War was such a strange conflict. Romantic notions tied to burgeoning mechanical flight, young mens' idealism contrasting with chemical warfare, iron crosses and zeppelins, trench warfare and civilian causalties. I find it endlessly fascinating and tragic. It marked the beginning of modern war and an end to the naive notion that war is only fought by the soldiers.***