Cuba Gooding Jr.

Style »

Follow Cuba Gooding Jr. Updates:

. . .

« PREV NEXT »

Red Tails

By Todd on | From dadlovesmovies.blogspot.com

Red Tails (Rated PG-13)

Starring Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding, Jr.,Gerald McRaney

Directed by Anthony Hemingway

Plot: Following actual events surrounding theTuskegee Airmen, a crew of African-American pilots that changed theperception of the role of African-Americans in the military.

I had high hopes for this movie, which GeorgeLucas has had in development for decades. While he obviously hasgreat respect for the men who served in World War II, the movieunfortunately needed more time in development.

After battling racism throughout theirtraining, the Tuskegee Airmen are working in WWII Italy flying groundmissions. Their desire to test their skills in battle is continuallythwarted by government stereotypes of black soldiers. Finally giventhe chance to show the world what they can do, the pilots (known asRed Tails because of the color of their planes), prove their worthproviding bomber support and ultimately win the Presidential UnitCitation and claim their place in history.

Lucas has gathered together a talented group ofactors, but then he saddled them in one-dimensional roles with someof the clunkiest and most cliched dialogue I've ever heard. Originally planned as a trilogy, Lucas condensed the story to focuson the battle scenes. Unfortunately, too many characters and toomany storylines still bog down the script. That doesn't diminishstrong performances from Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Tristan Wilds,and Method Man.

The movie soars in the battle scenes. Thedog-fighting scenes are spectacular and some of the best I've everseen filmed. They make the movie tolerable, but unfortunately it'snot enough to overcome the movies flaws.

Director Anthony Hemingway has had a successfulcareer in television, and I just don't think he grasped the immensityof this story. Writer John Ridley may have suffered from the samething, as he has primarily been an author and written for televisionto this point. I think he lacked the editing skills needed to bringthis script into focus.

Despite having been written by Ridley anddirected by Hemingway, Red Tails has the look and feel of GeorgeLucas all over it – brilliant special effects, decent story, andclunky dialogue. Red Tails feels a lot like Michael Bay's PearlHarbor (which also featured Cuba Gooding Jr.). The Tuskegee Airmendeserved better.