"Flyboys"

Directed by: Tony Bill Starring: James Franco, Jean Reno, Martin Henderson, Philip Winchester, David Ellison and Jennifer Decker MPAA rating: PG-13 (some intense battle scenes, minor bloodshed) Running time: 128 minutes Best suited for: dogfight fans Least suited for: the war-is- hardly-noble crowd The last great World War I fly- ing adventure is almost 70 years old. I suspect that few folks who aren't insomniacs have seen "The Dawn Patrol," a 1938 drama with Errol Flynn and David Niven. Back in '38 the winds of war were sweeping across the Atlantic and "Dawn Patrol" embraced a cau- tionary antiwar sentiment-a tes- tament to the senselessness of the coming madness.

There have been a few other ef- forts since then, including the opu- lent but overburdened "The Blue Max" with George Peppard in 1966 and the brooding "Aces High" (Malcolm McDowell) in '76. "The Great Waldo Pepper" (Redford in '75) had some nice aerial moments as did "Zeppelin" (Michael York in '71), although neither film was pri- marily about air combat. A defini- tive WWI flying ace film has been a long time coming.

And for those of us who appre- ciate a good old-fashioned dog- fight, the wait goes on. While I sense that "Flyboys" has its heart in the right place, the film unfor- tunately falls between the cracks of greatness. It's an okay adven- ture about a group of American volunteers in France who learn to fly flimsy Nieuport 17s (wooden propellers!) and become part of the distinguished Lafayette Escadrille.

The biggest flaw is that "Flyboys" suffers from a tedious formula: we're quickly introduced to a group of disparate, likeable Americans, then watch them wing off for a series of battles. One's a cowboy, one's rich, one's black (historically accurate, by the way), one's plagued by fear, another's in love, and one by one they tumble from the skies after proving their worth.

There's nothing really new here, nor has computer animation improved much upon the old aerial scenes of combat. Granted, there are several spectacular moments- wings splintering and collapsing in midair, a pilot flung helplessly from his doomed craft, an air chase weaving dizzily through the for- ests of the French countryside.

While "Flyboys" contains many moments of excitement, as a war film it's a fallback to the old days. In terms of technical achievement and in sheer, over- powering tension, efforts like "Saving Private Ryan" (1998) and "Black Hawk Down" (2001) have changed the face of modern war in cinema. Unpredictable, unnerv- ing and unflinchingly realistic, for better or worse they've brought the feel of war into theaters.

For the most part, "Flyboys" relies on "old school" values, pa- rading its stars around for us to champion and then mourn, to an extent manipulating our sense of justice and patriotism. Yes, there's even a snarling Hun in a black aeroplane who preys upon the nov- ice flyers. Sorry, but for me, just which side is wearing the white hat is getting harder to tell these days. If "Flyboys" is Hollywood's best attempt at promoting patriotism, as a talisman for American honor it simply doesn't work.

There's an obligatory love in- terest in "Flyboys" between emerging ace Blaine Rawlings (James Franco) and a French farm girl (Jennifer Decker). While I usu- ally loathe love gunking up a good war flick, this gentle aside actually worked nicely for me. The lovely Lucienne speaks no English and Rawlings speaks no French-and those first awkward moments of budding friendship are quite touch- ing. Had the tale belonged to Rawlings alone (his training as a flyer, his combat missions, his off- duty passions) the film might have actually fared better for me. But Rawlings shares the skies with several other flyboys, and his story is one of several told in snippets.

"Flyboys" also tells us it's based on actual events-and a con- sequence of that authenticity, I pre- sume, is a subtly unfulfilling end- ing. I have a small gripe with films that attempt to mimic reality when no need exists. Certainly a film about Eddie Rickenbacker or (Red) Baron von Richthofen would require historical accuracy, but a movie like "Flyboys" is at best a composite of those Ameri- can pilots who served in France. I'm not certain that historical ac- curacy at the expense of a fully gratifying ending is essential. Modern technique might be essen- tial in a new-fangled war flick, but old fashioned story-telling still has its place.

In a nutshell: I'm not sure if a vaingloriously patriotic war film is what the world needs at the mo- ment, although if you're a dogfight fan, "Flyboys" is the only game in town. It's an earnest, fairly decent visual effort, although the formu- laic plot lacks the punch and grit of a true classic.