Flyboys (2006)

War / Action / Adventure / Drama

2 hrs. 14 min.

James Franco (Annapolis, and about ten more movies in the next 12 months) stars as an American pilot who joins the French military to fly against the Germans in World War I.

Rated PG-13 for war action violence and some sexual content

Directed by: Tony Bill

Starring: James Franco, Jean Reno, David Ellison, Martin Henderson, Jennifer Decker

Theatrical Release Date: 9/22/2006

Release Type: Wide

U.S. Box Office: $13,082,288

Video/DVD Release Date: 1/30/2007

Distributor: MGM Distribution Company

Country: France / USA

Language: English / French

Offsite: IMDB | Official Site

CRITIC	RATING	QUOTE
Chicago Sun-Times Bill Zwecker	5	...the most interesting aspect of Flyboys is looking at those planes and watching the attractive crew of young actors appear to fly those fragile machines.
Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips	5	Just about everything in the video-gamey World War I picture Flyboys rings false, although the planes certainly are terrific.
E! Skylaire Alfvegren	8	Perfect for air show attendees, Air Force recruiters and vets of any war seeking to convey their experiences to squeamish wives or small children.
filmcritic.com Sean O'Connell	4	...resembles every other ham-fisted tale of historic heroism that has come down the cinematic pipe.
New York Post Kyle Smith	4	...the film sprawls over nearly 21/2 hours because it plods through its bland checklist one scene at a time...
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh	4	...CGI spectacle trumps story at every turn.
Reel D. Scott Apel	5	...while it might be about the Great War, it's far from being a great movie.
Slant Magazine Ed Gonzalez	4	...a sham no amount of droopy-dog posturing by James Franco can alleviate.
Entertainment Weekly Gregory Kirschling	4	This is a lost opportunity on an epic scale. The actors are so styled and the dogfights so drippy with CG that, as a period piece, the movie almost looks like it's set in the future.
New York Times Nathan Lee	5	...what you'd get if Norman Rockwell directed Top Gun.
Los Angeles Times Michael Phillips	5	Just about everything in the video-gamey World War I picture Flyboys rings false, although the planes certainly are terrific.
People Leah Rozen	6	...servicable...
LA Weekly Scott Foundas	8	...a highly enjoyable programmer about those brave young men and their rickety flying machines.
Village Voice Bill Gallo	5	...you won't find much All Quiet on the Western Front–style despair, and the paths of glory are unsullied by doubt or disillusionment.
Onion AV Club Nathan Rabin	6	...a blandly proficient war movie.
Premiere Glenn Kenny	6	I have nothing against a good old-fashioned flying-aces war movie, which is what this picture aspires to. I just get a little antsy at movies in which almost every single damn moment is presumed to be dramatic enough to warrant a swelling music cue...
Christian Science Monitor M.K. Terrell	7	Excellent use of the latest special effects makes for a real thrill ride that demands to be viewed on a big screen.

WATCH THE TRAILER

This movie is available on DVD/Video

ALL AVERAGE CRITIC RATING	5.4
AVERAGE USER RATING (4 ratings)	5.8

USER REVIEWS:

ouisc 8

I like that infatuation loses itself in the end but the 'could have been' still lingers.

Wynns 5

Bubblegum.

If you're 12, it might be worth two hours. But, 134 minutes for an adult is stretching it way beyond what my butt could handle.

The New York Post called it "bland" I concur.