Red Tails (2012, PG-13)

This is a movie that I’ve had my eye on for a while, and I recently discovered it was available on Disney+. Well-made film about an important piece of history.

The Tuskegee Airmen, an all-Black squadron of WWII pilots, have spent the war on “mop-up” duty; while they get to fly, their missions are often low-stakes ones far from the action, and the soldiers are itching for the chance to really make a difference in the war effort. When an internal military review trashing the squadron’s abilities is leaked to the press, their colonel forces the issue, arguing that judgment can’t be passed on his men’s potential if they’ve never been given a chance to show it. This brings higher-profile missions onto their docket, protecting U.S. bombers from German fighter planes.

I’ll admit that I only have pretty surface-level knowledge of the Tuskegee Airmen, but I liked this film quite a bit. The characters are broadly drawn (the flight leader who takes his responsibility very seriously, the hotshot who’s always disobeying orders and pulling off wild moves, the young guy that everyone treats like a kid, etc.), but they’re still engaging, brought to life by some talented performers. I like seeing, not only the squadron’s personal goal to prove their worth to the army, but also the details of how they pioneer a new way of approaching missions, prioritizing the protection of their charges over the pursuit of racking up German kills.

This is of course a Black-led period piece dealing with discrimination, and so we naturally address that. In addition to how the Tuskegee Airmen are treated like a second-class squadron by the top brass, we also see the relative equality the pilots enjoy among Italian townsfolk (in sharp contrast to how their fellow American soldiers respond to them) and one pilot who has the unfortunate distinction of integrating a German P.O.W. camp. But at the same time, it’s also just a movie about the lives, dreams, and struggles of these pilots – we see them hanging around the mess hall, arguing over tactics, wooing local women, and looking out for each other in the air.

This movie came on my radar when I noticed it on the IMDb pages of so many fine actors, and for the most part, the cast does not disappoint (more on that in a second.) Among the Airmen, we’re treated to the likes of David Oyelowo, Elijah Kelley (Seaweed in the movie adaptation of Hairspray,) Leslie Odom Jr. (Burr!), and Michael B. Jordan, with Terrence Howard as their colonel and reliable Hey It’s That Guy Andre Royo as one of the ground crew. The chemistry between all of them is really strong, one of the film’s best features in my opinion. The film also features Bryan Cranston as the requisite White Racist Authority Figure and a brief appearance from Lee Tergesen.

What aggravated me, though, was that I’d forgotten until I started watching that Cuba Gooding Jr. is on the cast list as well, playing the squadron’s major. What’s more, while the movie is mostly an ensemble piece, the closest character it has to a lead is played by Nate Parker, which I hadn’t realized. It sucks to settle into a good movie and realize it features one man accused of sexual misconduct and another of rape, and while I wouldn’t say their presence ruined the rest of the film for me, it was definitely on my mind whenever either of them were onscreen.

Warnings

Violence, light sensuality, language (including racial slurs,) drinking/smoking, and thematic elements.