"Red Tails" a movie worthy of February
By Matt Grantz, Assistant Editor
February 9 , 2012
 The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of African-American Army Air Corps pilots during World War II. Prior to the war, African-Americans were forbidden to become pilots because the military and others considered them unintelligent. Just prior to the World War II, the situation changed when Congress passed a bill establishing a training program for African-American pilots. This program turned out the skilled pilots who formed the 332nd Fighter Group, a unit that distinguished itself throughout the war and helped promote equality in the military.
“Red Tails” is a movie based on the story of the 322nd Fighter Group and its combat record in Europe, thus the history lesson. The movie’s name takes its title from that unit’s nickname because of the distinctive way the unit painted its planes (red on the tails).
The film opens with German fighters destroying multiple American bombers because American fighter pilots (all Caucasian) had abandoned the bombers and were hunting decoy German fighters. The movie then moves to a squad of African-American pilots on routine patrol over Italy. These pilots were assigned duties well behind the front lines and thus avoided air combat. Instead, they were given mop-up duties because of their skin color.
“Red Tails” then progresses to a staff meeting at which one of the airmen asks if the 322nd is going to be shipped home because he had read a newspaper article that stated the Tuskegee experiment had failed and the unit would be shut down. Major Emanuel Stance (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) verified the claim and said the unit’s commander, Colonel A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard), was in Washington fighting for the unit’s future.
The scene switches to Bullard at the Pentagon in a meeting with military brass. At the meeting, the future of the 322nd is threatened and Bullard seems to have little hope of saving his unit. Fortunately, one of Bullard’s white colleagues is able to get the 322nd into an actual combat situation, allowing the Tuskegee airmen to prove themselves.
“Red Tails” is certainly not a documentary and doesn’t faithfully tell the story of the Tuskegee Airmen. But the film certainly captures the essence of the airmen’s struggle for equality. The film fully displayed George Lucas’s creative genius in a project he had been working on for two decades.
The film’s special effects were impressive, with CGI used for many of the air battles. Unfortunately, the CGI was overused, thus interfering with the film’s feel and appearance. Besides that minor defect, there is nothing else of note wrong with “Red Tails.”
I certainly found “Red Tails” to be an exciting and interesting movie that is thoroughly enjoyable to sit through (unless you get stuck with the annoying ladies that talk throughout the movie in your theater as I did). Therefore, I recommend “Red Tails” to anyone who enjoys a good war or action movie.
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