Flyboys is a good introduction to some of the surface elements of aviation in the First World War. One learns about the fragility of World War I aircraft, their vulnerabilities, the terrible risks that pilots faced, and the operating conditions under which they functioned. Many of the events in the film do reflect, in fact, episodes from the history of the Lafayette Escadrille, a fighter group of volunteer American pilots formed at the time of the Battle of Verdun (early 1916) to fight for France. Many of these airmen later transferred to the Army Air Service when America entered fighting on the Western Front in 1918. A few remained with the French air service through the end of the war. Overall, of 269 who volunteered, 69 died, with 42 of the dead falling in combat. Where the film is far less successful is in conveying any coherence to the war...one does not, for example, gain an impression of the stages of the air war. It is chock full of exciting episodes--a little like Memphis Belle, in this regard--but most are repetitious and, after a while, surprisingly boring. Some elements--squadron unity, "blooding" rituals, for example--are well done, and some other elements echo the rivalry of elite pilots explored in other pictures such as The Hunters or Von Richthofen and Brown. The computer generated flying sequences are much better than the usual (Pearl Harbor being particularly notorious in this regard), but, even so, there is an unreality to them that belies the actual flying experience one gains in close formation, 1 v 1, or 1 v many. In this regard, nothing beats the older The Blue Max. Bottom line: Good movie, even a good date movie (there is a touching love interest), but no classic. Purists should see it for fun (like Zeppelin, earlier), and then rent The Blue Max for "the real thing."
Review of Flyboys
