Flyboys

In 1916, the French air force created the Lafayette Escadrille, a squadron of bi-planes piloted mostly by young Americans. Actor-TV director Tony Bill’s epic homage to these gung-ho apple-pie boys is reminiscent of Michael Bay’s ‘Pearl Harbour’ with its glossy colour palette, conventional, humdrum narrative and soppy love interest between hunky rookie Blaine Rawlings (James Franco) and sultry French sylph Lucienne (Jennifer Decker). It should, by rights, have been made into a TV mini-series, since few would wish to endure over two hours of this clichéd mush in one sitting. The worst offender is Trevor Rabin’s textbook-trite score: the lads get ready for battle (cue swooning strings); a German triplane is shot down (cue militaristic brass); one of their own is killed (cue heavenly choral muzak); a moment of reflection (cue solo trumpet), etc. True, the myriad computer-generated dogfights are mostly well choreographed and rendered, but when you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all. Which leaves one with just the performances to consider. Erm… pass.