Flyboys
(DVD-Video + Blu-ray)
Picture:
C+/B Sound: B/B+ Extras: C Feature: D
In the
War genre, you either get gritty tales of realism or heroic epics, whether they
are from the past or present. If they
are in the future, they are usually Science fiction, but that is another
essay. Tony Bill has never been good at large
productions and since My Bodyguard in 1980, has had more success on TV than
theatrically. Maybe it was the TV
experience that led producers to hire him to make the expensive flop Flyboys in 2006, which was hot totally
in digital High Definition.
Unfortunately, the choice of what to shoot it in is only the beginning
of its troubles.
This one
is set in 1917 as the U.S. finally gets into air power during WWI. James Franco and Jean Reno are OK as the best
knowns of an almost unknown cast, but the complaints about Pearl Harbor are much worse here insofar as bad acting and dialogue
are concerned. Blake T. Edwards’ story
was turned into a screenplay by Evans, Phil Sears and David S. Ward, but Ward
still has not recovered from the Major League franchise, which is why this is
such a minor league epic. Dean Devlin
co-produced this and used to be savvier with such big productions, but has
slowly lost his way since the horrid Godzilla
remake and needs to get back to his roots.
Much has been made of actor David Ellison’s father Larry co-funding this
epic and with a love of flight, I believe they were sincere. However, if they are as serious about
filmmaking, they need to take cinema as seriously as aeronautics. Otherwise, they should stick to
documentaries.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 digital MPEG-2 @ 24 MBPS High Definition transfer on this 50GB Blu-ray
looks better than the problematic standard anamorphically-enhanced DVD. You get more solid video black, a little more
detail and less breakup troubles than the DVD had. Henry Braham, B.S.C., can only get this to
look like a second rate version of every filmed war plane film we have ever
seen and an additional comparison to Martin Scorsese’s underrated The Aviator is no contest, with this
looking so generic as compared to Scorsese’s masterwork. On its own, it looks like a videogame that
dates quickly and makes the humans look secondary to the planes and phony
skies.
The DTS
HD 5.1 Master Audio track is also better than the standard Dolby Digital 5.1
mix on the standard DVD, and though the DTS HD chip is not on the market yet, that
track is much more like it and what the creators intended, saving this film
from being a total waste. Yes, it makes
a decent sound demo, but like so many such films, makes you wish the film was
good. Fortunately, there are enough
titles in both HD formats not to have to suffer through that again. Unfortunately, the talented Trevor Rabin
turns in yet another lame music score that sounds like it comes form a computer
loaded with formulas for stereotypical, clichéd Hollywood film scores. Generic is the overall performance result.
Extras
include an amusing full length audio commentary with Bill and producer Devlin, deleted scenes,
Real Heroes: The True Story of the
Lafayette Escadrille Featurette, The
Life of a Miniature Stunt Pilot Featurette, Whiskey and Soda - The Lion Mascots Featurette, Taking Flight: The Making of a Flying
Sequence Featurette, The Real Planes Of
Flyboys Featurette, a trivia track pop-up feature and original theatrical trailer
in HD. The latter two are exclusive to
this Blu-ray edition.
- Nicholas Sheffo
