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Friday, January 27, 2012

Film Things To Know About the Movie Red Tails

Posted by Jen Graves on Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 1:36 PM

Yay! Boo! Yay! Boo! Nice jackets.

1. As Wm.™ Steven Humphrey says in his review about the new Tuskegee Airmen picture, it isn't a good movie. I can confirm: This is a George Lucas movie that feels like a George Lucas movie, except that it's explicitly (unlike, you know, Jar Jar Binks) against racism.

2. And yet, opinion is mixed on whether "He's Jar Jar Binked us again." While representation is great—it's great simply to see so many black actors in a giant Hollywood picture; there are something like 15 airmen roles—they're still stuck holding down a crappy movie.

3. On the other hand, Lucas has said that if Red Tails does well enough, he'll give Tuskegee Airmen the Star Wars treatment and turn it into a series. (The condescension here is palpable, yes.) The airmen will return home and rediscover the racism they've flown their way out of in the friendly skies of World War II, where they win even racist hearts with their exceptional heroism. (Note: All Germans are still Nazi pigs, with Nazi pig hearts that are not won over.) Could the homecoming story be a better movie?

4. A Seattle designer, Good Wear Leather, created 18 of the bomber jackets that appear in the movie—14 for actors and two for stuntmen, then two for actual pilots flying the planes, Good Wear's John Chapman told Worn Out columnist Marti Jonjak. Good for Good Wear, which specializes in re-creations of historical jackets: "1942 in a box."

Comments (22) RSS

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Jar Jar Binx is a great verb

Posted by ryanayr on January 27, 2012 at 1:43 PM

So the sequel to this one will be the best of the series, with a cliffhanger ending and the orphaned Tuskeegee airman protagonist finding out that Bull Connor is his father?

Posted by seatackled on January 27, 2012 at 1:50 PM

I saw it for free and even then it was too expensive for that crap.

Posted by sirkowski

on January 27, 2012 at 1:50 PM

It feels very much like an OLD-TIMEY war movie. Morality is black and white, plot is basic, germans are evil. Except for many obvious reasons (he's dead, he's white, etc), it's the type of thing John Wayne spent his career doing. Still, I thought the airfights were decent. Plus, explosions!

Posted by Tracy on January 27, 2012 at 1:51 PM

You try filming a black movie and see how easy it is to get it on that many screens nationwide.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on January 27, 2012 at 1:54 PM

Lucas should either stop making movies, or just make them all G rated. Make all the main characters people in animal costumes. Basically gear it all for kids, who dont know any better. That way you can say "Well of course it sucked, but my kid loved it".

Posted by Kinison

on January 27, 2012 at 1:58 PM

It's Lucas, Will. He could film an hour and a-half of literal navel-gazing, and NATO affiliates would throw it up on 3,000 screens nation-wide.

Posted by COMTE

on January 27, 2012 at 2:03 PM

It breaks my heart that this movie isn't any better. This is such a great story to be told. These guys were serious heros, and fought and died for a country, and a military, that fucked them over again and again. Some of these guys are still around, and I was hoping the movie would do well, just for them.

Posted by DTrevor on January 27, 2012 at 2:17 PM

@4 Lucas has said that this movie is targeted at teenage boys, to inspire them to be heroes. Of course, with George, his idea of what a teenage boy would like may be a little off.

Posted by Sir Vic on January 27, 2012 at 2:18 PM

@9: "Lucas has said that this movie is targeted at teenage boys"

God, Lucas' kids must have been the most annoying people considering what he's been doing to reach their "demographic".

Posted by undead ayn rand on January 27, 2012 at 2:20 PM

FWIW, I heard the HBO version of the same story was done much better.

Posted by undead ayn rand on January 27, 2012 at 2:22 PM

Wow, those black airmen are really awesome! Now I don't feel like being racist anymore.

That's the kind of dialogue from the 'good' white people in this movie. I think its purpose is to alleviate possible liberal guilt in the white audience and make sure no conservatives can claim the movie is anti-white.

This movie is like a mash-up of Indiana Jones and Shindler's List. You gotta pick a narrative, you can't have it both ways. You can't mix serious social critique with mindless fun and violence.

Posted by sirkowski

on January 27, 2012 at 3:05 PM

Anyone who thinks Jar Jar Binx is a "racist" character is trying REALLY REALLY hard to find a racist subtext. You hypersensitive retards make me laugh.

Posted by TJ81 on January 27, 2012 at 3:09 PM

How can a character from a different time and galaxy be racist?

Posted by JF on January 27, 2012 at 3:22 PM

@12:

Actually, you can - look at movies like Roger Corman's original "Death Race 2000", George Romero's "Dawn Of The Dead", or Paul Verhoeven's "Robocop", as good examples of this.

Lucas, unfortunately, couldn't pull off this kind of a movie if you held a gun to his head...

Posted by COMTE

on January 27, 2012 at 3:23 PM

Clunky dialogue is the hallmark of a George Lucas movie.

The last time dialogue worked in a Lucas film were the original Star Wars and Indiana Jones films, because they seemed to be parodying '30s adventure serials.

There's been no adequate explanation for what followed, except George's tin ear.

I've seen the HBO film on the same topic and, yes, it was good, but I would have spared my tender ears from the latest Lucas dialogue massacre, in any case.

Posted by judybrowni on January 27, 2012 at 3:25 PM

@13: "Anyone who thinks Jar Jar Binx is a "racist" character is trying REALLY REALLY hard to find a racist subtext. You hypersensitive retards make me laugh"

Meesa thinka you did a bombad t'ing in not watching Bamboozled.

Jar Jar isn't "racist" exactly, but Lucas is pretty hamfisted in his attempts to draw and fuse elements from world cultures. The Neimoidians and their engrish were pretty groanworthy.

Posted by undead ayn rand on January 27, 2012 at 3:35 PM

Is there going to be a Worn Out column with Good Wear Leather? I didn't see one on the list and I'd love to read it.

Posted by mitten on January 27, 2012 at 4:52 PM

Fix the "Good Wear Leather" link in the last paragraph. You have a hanging tag.

Posted by drew on January 27, 2012 at 6:55 PM

@9:

EVERY movie Lucas has ever made has been aimed at teenaged boys. The problem is, Lucas himself hasn't been a teenaged boy himself for well over 50 years.

Posted by COMTE

on January 27, 2012 at 9:29 PM