Red Tails

Name: Red Tails
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, History, War
Released: January 20, 2012
Duration: 120 min
Rating: 46

2012

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 107 Ratings

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5.9

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5.9	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 107 Ratings

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Red Tails

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Movie Details & Credits

Twentieth Century Fox | Release Date: January 20, 2012 | PG-13

Summary: Red Tails begins its story with World War II in full swing. As the war continues to take its toll on Allied Forces in Europe, the Pentagon brass, desperate to protect their dwindling numbers of bombers look to an option previously considered unthinkable. At long last they give The Tuskegee Airmen the chance to prove themselves in battle andRed Tails begins its story with World War II in full swing. As the war continues to take its toll on Allied Forces in Europe, the Pentagon brass, desperate to protect their dwindling numbers of bombers look to an option previously considered unthinkable. At long last they give The Tuskegee Airmen the chance to prove themselves in battle and forever put to rest the misplaced belief that blacks lacked the courage, discipline and intelligence to be fighter pilots. Against all the odds, with something to prove and everything to lose, these intrepid young airmen take to the skies in awe inspiring displays of bravery and heroism to fight for their country and with it, the fate of the free world. (20th Century Fox)… Expand

Director: Anthony Hemingway

Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Drama, History, War

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 120 min

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Critic Reviews

Steve Persall

Jan 20, 2012

Thankfully, much of Red Tails is spent in the skies, where fighter planes swoop and zoom in thrilling dogfights with incendiary direct hits. Executive producer George Lucas apparently gave Hemingway the keys to his CGI kingdom, creating marvelously designed in-flight action and a sappy, snappy salute to the Tuskegee Airmen. Read full review

Shawn Levy

Jan 19, 2012

Kudos to the makers Red Tails for paying homage to a remarkable group of men and their genuinely heroic deeds, and a hat-tip as well for the idea that the best way to tell the story was the old-fashioned way. But would that the film's old-school aura felt knowingly retro rather than dutifully rote. Read full review

Steven Rea

Jan 19, 2012

There isn't a real, flesh-and-blood figure in the bunch. Everything about Red Tails - the breaking down of racial barriers, the military achievements, the courage and sacrifice - is diminished in the process. Read full review

Wesley Morris

Jan 19, 2012

The movie is so desperate to be palatable, to appeal to everybody that it doesn't taste like anything. Read full review

Bilge Ebiri

Jan 19, 2012

For all the occasional grace of its high-flying derring-do, Red Tails barely feels like a movie. It's an uncertain hodgepodge of impulses and desires that never coheres enough to even crash and burn. Read full review

Peter Debruge

Jan 19, 2012

Apart from the occasional thrill provided by CG-enhanced aerial dogfights, this stuffy history lesson about the groundbreaking African-American fighter pilot division never quite takes off, weighed down by wooden characters and leaden screenwriting. Read full review

Amy Biancolli

Jan 19, 2012

What's missing is any hint of realism. There's no grit to it anywhere. Read full review

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User Reviews

frogwipe

Jan 20, 2012

The Tuskegee Airmen Part 2. Didn't they already make a movie about this? I know the politically correct people who make these movies want to do everything they can to shove a story like this in everyone's face so they can feel better about themselves but enough is enough. They lost me withThe Tuskegee Airmen Part 2. Didn't they already make a movie about this? I know the politically correct people who make these movies want to do everything they can to shove a story like this in everyone's face so they can feel better about themselves but enough is enough. They lost me with the trailer and the airmens' supposed pre-flight/pre-game chant as if Ray Lewis is flying one of these planes. Stupid.… Expand

2 of 5 users found this helpful23

BHBarry

Jan 22, 2012

3 of 5 users found this helpful32

flyboyala

Jan 20, 2012

I just got back from watching RED TAIL, It was an ok movie however, I thought it very much short of the movie a few years ago titled "TUSKEGEE AIRMEN", now that was a great movie about the Tuskegee Airmen and a goo war air movie about these guys.

5 of 8 users found this helpful53

Apemonkey666

Jun 11, 2012

Besides the fact that it's about black pilots in WW2 this film is rather the same as most other fighter pilot movies. The (mostly CGI) dogfights are nicely done but the film drags on a bit too long and unfolds in an unsurpising and rather straightforward way. It didn't make too much money soBesides the fact that it's about black pilots in WW2 this film is rather the same as most other fighter pilot movies. The (mostly CGI) dogfights are nicely done but the film drags on a bit too long and unfolds in an unsurpising and rather straightforward way. It didn't make too much money so I guess nobody was really waiting for this story to be brought to the screen (except maybe for Mr. Lucas who has been working to get it to the screen since 1988). George will apparently also bless us with a sequel and a prequel direct by Spike Lee and Lee Daniels.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

KnowNothing

Jan 30, 2012

"Red Tails" seemed to be trying to emulate those great old war films of the 1940s, but it lacked the corny charm and sometimes riveting drama of those movies. "Red Tails" was at it's best when the theater was filled with the roar of those P51s screaming across the movie screen. Other than"Red Tails" seemed to be trying to emulate those great old war films of the 1940s, but it lacked the corny charm and sometimes riveting drama of those movies. "Red Tails" was at it's best when the theater was filled with the roar of those P51s screaming across the movie screen. Other than that, it wasn't impossible to get through, but very close to a yawner.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

Ming120

Jan 20, 2012

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I had been wanting to watch this movie since I first saw the trailer. Now that I have seen it, it pains me that I have to give it such a low score. It had so much potential and is based on the kind of people I admire. I'm a pilot myself, and an aviation buff, and while I don't normally go out to watch just any movie, anything that captures the exciting moments and challenges of flight, especially the roar of a Packard version of a Merlin strapped to a P-51, is enough to give me pause. Movies like these are a rarity these days so I had high hopes, but in a lot of ways, this movie simply crashed and burned. (Note: Spoilers ahead)

The problem with this movie is that it lacked depth and realism. I feel that it never quite adequately depicted the struggles and challenges faced by the Tuskegee airmen and never really offered any antagonizing moments through the duration of the film. You see some racial discrimination in this movie, but it is displayed in such a blunt manner that you begin to really question it's meaning. It can go a something like this: White B-17 pilot spots a black pilot flying a P-51. "Hey everybody, doesn't look like we're getting much help here," says the white pilot (though quite frankly, I think most bomber crews would be grateful for any escort, no matter their color). That's literally as much as you'll expect in this movie. It's nothing like Men of Honor, where one actually has to struggle through bigotry--in this movie, it just happens, and how our heroic black men pull out of this is by simply being bad ass.

I can give the movie a bit of praise for it's CGI action scenes, for they do look neat, but they seemed tacked on. They do a great job in depicting the Tuskegee airmen like aces, and I believe, historically, they were in fact a forced to be reckoned with. They also depict the Luftwaffe pilots as arrogant bastards and lack any kind of aerial competence. Just watching the pretty dogfights were a bit painful, not because they lacked artistic elegance, but because the whole movie was pretty one-sided. The Tuskegee airmen lost about 3 P-51s (I was counting), while they destroyed about half the German Luftwaffe including jets, a battleship, and a train. Oh my! You also see tacked on romances, which I feel is unnecessary for a film like this and seems to do more harm than good. I won't go into the details, but it seems as forced as rest of the movie and takes up valuable film. Romances can be interesting in some movies, provided there is more narrative. Unfortunately, this is not the case in this movie. The characterization was a little weak as well. The depictions of the Tuskegee airmen were interesting, and each character had a unique personality. Unfortunately, it goes a little too far and depicted the boys each with discreet problems. You have a womanizing macho pilot, a self-pitying squadron leader, a young lad who can never stand with the rest, and a few others that are just contrasted a bit too loudly. The Caucasian characters in the movie are even worst, with dry lines that seem to focus way too much on antagonizing the black race. There is also a pretty Italian woman that was tacked on to part of the story. Unfortunately, she lacked narrative, backstory, and only had a few lines to say, which rendered her role insignificant.

I greatly admire the Tuskegee airmen and what they did back in the war, but quite frankly, I think this movie didn't do them great justice. Realism was stretched beyond belief here, and I think in a movie like this, you need a little bit of realism to portray the drama. Seeing a German ME 262 Jet going head on with a P-51, both exchanging gunfire until the bitter end is probably enough to make anyone who knows anything about aviation, especially pilots, cringe. That, and shooting down half the German Luftwaffe makes me feel that whoever wrote this movie simply didn't do enough homework.

I really wanted to like this movie. It had so much potential. The cast seemed appropriate. It was the execution that seemed disappointing. I this this movie might appeal to some people, but for anyone wanting a film that is a little more serious, they might be in for some disappointment...… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

Bart

Jan 21, 2012

What a piece of crud. What an insult to the actual African American airmen, and an insult to other white airmen who all gave so much to protect our freedom. Leave it to Steven Spielberg to re-write history, as it is clear he has never read a history book. Do not waste your money on thisWhat a piece of crud. What an insult to the actual African American airmen, and an insult to other white airmen who all gave so much to protect our freedom. Leave it to Steven Spielberg to re-write history, as it is clear he has never read a history book. Do not waste your money on this film, as it is ridiculous garbage and an insult to veterans.… Expand

0 of 11 users found this helpful011

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