American aviation's flying legend Chuck Yeager once called air-to-air combat the last truly glamorous form of warfare. Maybe that explains why movies about fighter pilots and fighter battle are an old Hollywood favorite.

1927's Wings and 1930's Dawn Patrol are considered classics. The 1986's Top Gun helped boost Tom Cruise to stardom and spurred an increase in military recruiting. And now, Hollywood is tackling the subject of World War I fighter combat for the first time since The Blue Max in 1966.

Inspired by real events and directed by Academy Award-winning Tony Bill, Flyboys follows a group of young Americans who volunteered to fly and fight for France in the days before the United States entered World War I and became the country's first fighter pilots. Fighting a war that wasn't theirs, these young, naive adventure-seekers learned the true meaning of love, brotherhood, heroism, courage and tolerance.

The movie begins in 1916 with Blaine Rawlings, a Texas farm boy (James Franco) who flees his hometown and journeys to France to join the famous expatriate flying troops where he learns how to fly, stumbles through his initial missions, forms a band of brothers with his fellow pilots, conflicts with his strict commander (Jean Reno), falls in love with a pretty girl (Jennifer Decker) and becomes a first rate pilot.

Among the group of brothers, there is Beagle, an odd fellow with a mysterious past (David Ellison). Ellison and director Bill had the same flight coach and that's how the fledgling actor came to be cast in Flyboys. Ellison says that working on Flyboys was literally one of the best experiences of his life. "Just the combination," said Ellison in one interview, "it really was like a dream come true this whole project. Growing up flying and then making a feature debut with Tony directing it's unbelievable." Unlike Ellison, Franco didn't take up flying until after being cast in Flyboys.

Two of the supporting casts turn in very strong performances. One is Jean Reno, who is excellent as Captain Thenault. Reno, a talented, charismatic actor, has played tough guys many times. When he lectures the trainee pilots on combat tactics, he really looks good in a period uniform. The other one is Martin Henderson as a disillusioned and mysterious American pilot who has grown bitter seeing too many friends killed by the Germans. His first words to the new squadron are a warning that they will probably be shot down within six weeks.

The director combines the very latest in computer effects with actual aerial footage to put the audience in the midst of aerial combat. At times the results are visually arresting.

Though some critics have called it a cliched drama, Flyboys is a decidedly old-fashioned war film and its heart is in the right place. Yeager was right. It really is the last truly glamorous form of war. And when the planes and the dog fighting take center stage, Flyboys makes it look pretty cool.

Chen Nan

Flyboys opens on Feb 9 at cinemas citywide.

(China Daily 02/07/2007 page7)