FOSTER ON FILM REVIEW: ‘Red Tails’ falls flat for pilots of WWII

Shiny plastic-looking planes and neon bullets drew me to “Red Tails.” But for a movie commemorating the Tuskegee Airmen, the candy-store feel is odd.

Still, transforming subjects as dreary as World War II and racism to a dogfighting glitz fest is compelling. Just think of it — indulgent shoot ’em up fantasies can save the world!

Sadly, “Red Tails” righteous hedonism peters out to a tiresome PSA. The script is hokey as ever, but solemnly self-convincing. The cast also might have been in a school play.

Rather than committing to glam, “Red Tails” shot for nobler intentions, twiddled with manipulative drama and returned empty-handed.

With racism running rampant in the United States, black pilots are nothing more than a charming idea. Nonetheless, the U.S. Army Air Corps sets up the Tuskegee program under Col. A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard) during WWII. First given petty missions, like foiling Nazi shipments, the eager, talented airmen are finally assigned to escort bombers.

“Red Tails” follows a handful of personalities, Easy (Nate Parker), Junior (Tristan Wilds), Joker (Elijah Kelley), Smoky (Ne-Yo) and Lightning (David Oyelowo) on their quest for freedom on global and personal scales.

Cheese can be fun, but a drop of conviction will ruin it. “Red Tails’” ruminates on emotion no more than a Hallmark card. Obnoxious malarkey lectures, spontaneous romances and verbal slap-fights devour half the movie.

Sure, dilemmas (even fake ones) are necessary for structure, but these are given too much importance as if they are good! Every little “Red Tail” tragedy seeks gasps and wails. Passing dopey prototypes for individuals tremendous as the Tuskegee Airmen, “Red Tails” does not deserve a fleck of serious emotion.

While perfectly articulate, the acting is just that, articulate. Excluding Oyelowo, the cast lacks enthusiasm. Actors smile and have intonations implicative of some feeling, but few break into their roles.

As in mediocre productions, there is either an obligatory stench or obnoxious self-aggrandizing satisfaction. Rather than slipping into new minds, I kept getting the sense actors only considered how “Red Tails” benefited their real-life reputations. Unable to get lost in “Red Tails,” I occupied myself with the theatre’s gum-caked floors.

All in all, “Red Tails” could have been a blast but was a bust. I give it a C-.

With a running time of 125 minutes “Red Tails” is rated PG-13 for some sequences of war violence.

Heather Foster is a junior at the University of Florida.