This weekend my wife and I went to see Red Tails. Let me just say I was pleasantly surprised to see the turn out for this movie. It was the official opening night and though I was not surprised to see majority African Americans show up to see the movie I was surprised to see the various age groups. Because there was an issue with the speakers during the coming attractions I had the opportunity to look around the pact theater to see just who had come to see this movie. The age groups ranged from 20 somethings all the way up to 60+. I am sure with many minds thinking the same that support must be given to George Lucas for his shoveling out of millions to stand behind the first majority African American Action Movie, this partially led to the many derrieres in those seats.
To comment on the movie itself I tried to come in with an opened mind and not judge the actors based upon some not truly being African American or some speaking with a dialect that they do not possess in real life. For the first 15 minutes of the movie I wondered if some of the actors were amateurs which caused me to look to my smart phone and pull up IMDB to see how long they had been acting. It was the conversations held by them in the cockpit that seemed very scripted as if they were reading the scripts verbatim while in the cockpit. However, I will be the first to admit that once they landed and were back on God's green earth with out the scripts being posted in front of them they held there own. I put away my smart phone and at times found myself enthralled in the conversations they had with one another as if some of them were my closest friends. I was particularly proud of Terrence Howard's Character. This COL. was suave, courageous, inspirational, and defined what a real man is in the face of adversity.
Being an African American I was very proud of what these men did for a Country that did not show the same respect or appreciation back to them during this time. To bluntly put they earned my respect for fighting a war that neither side wanted them to be in. I would also like to commend George Lucas on the effects. I found myself at times saying the sounds were very familiar; I wondered if Luke Sky Walker was going to grace us with his presence and fly across the screen but sadly he never did instead I saw Ne-Yo in the cockpit lol. I do give this movie a 3 out of 5 stars and encourage not just African Americans to see this movie but all races. This movie contains acts of Heroism, Sacrifice, and True Patriotism. If you are looking to get your Action fix this month or just want to see what life was like for the Tuskegee Airmen then definitely check this movie out.
