Red Tails is a movie about Tuskegee Airmen fighting in WWII. How much of the film was based on real events and how much was embellished? As I watched this movie, I kept asking myself that question; some of the events seemed too unbelievable. Now I realize Red Tails is rated PG-13. Therefore, it was obvious George Lucas was catering to a young audience, mostly boys age 13, and there is nothing wrong with that, but the element of story was lacking and I found myself getting bored through most of it.
Here’s where Red Tails was weak:
1. The script
2. The Editing and Sound Design
3. The Score
4. The Acting
5. The Directing
6. The Cast
In the script, no characters ever developed. I really wanted to care about them, but I wasn’t given enough backstory to really know a single Tuskegee Airman. There were a couple of stories that began to develop, and I thought for sure I was going to get more out of those plot lines than I did. The characters did stay true to their profiles, but where were the “character arcs” and the conflicts that make for a great story?
The editing definitely could have been tighter. Filled with pregnant pauses, and repeated dialog, I wondered if the screenwriter thought his audience either wasn’t very intelligent or suffered from a short attention span. On a positive note, the editing worked during the flying sequences. They were exciting. But never once did I sit on the edge of my seat. And that brings me to the sound design problem. There was perpetual dead space when the actors delivered their dialog. It was almost as if the sound people were afraid to bring up the levels. Where were the nature sounds, the sound of other people, and office noise, etc.—except for the deafening sound of the planes’ engines, which certainly cheapened the quality and authenticity of that time.
The score was written by composer Terrance Blanchard who is a seasoned television composer. He has scored several movies too, but not with the conviction of a Howard Shore or a John 
Williams. The score was too safe, predictable, and lacked dynamic range, which would have brought this movie to another level completely. Instead it felt like a television movie, not a feature film. If Red Tails had been scored differently, it might have helped tremendously with the acting, which was unacceptably bad for this level of production and crew. I felt badly for Terrence Howard, who is a very good actor but was surrounded by mediocre, unseasoned talent. I wasn’t sure if this had more to do with the direction, the editing, or a weak script . . . too much dialog!
Lastly, the cast played a big role in downgrading Red Tails. Putting Cuba Gooding Jr. opposite Terrance Howard not only might have completely destroyed Gooding’s acting career, but made me wince every time Gooding delivered a line—so not convincing and shockingly weak in his supporting role. The other actors were forgettable at best, except for Nate Parker and Leslie Odom; Tristan Wilde had some good moments too. The rest of this cast is guilty of overacting. Sorry, guys.
George Lucas made a statement recently that he couldn’t secure funding for the “all black” cast. But there is no excuse for amateurish, student filmmaking. How is it movies with comparable budgets have a more professional quality to them? It seems to me that George Lucas with all of his resources could have hired a more qualified cast and crew. It makes me wonder just how good a producer he is. Give a filmmaker 50-60 million and it’s almost impossible to make a bad film. But try producing a film on a low budget and show us what you’re really made of! What saved Red Tails? The cinematography, lighting, and art direction; at least the movie looked good.
I’m disappointed because I really wanted to support this film, but I can’t tell you this is a good movie. Tuskegee Airmen and their accomplishments are things everyone should know about, but this movie is indulgent, self-glorifying, with one-dimensional characters, and under developed plots. George, did it ever occur to you that maybe you couldn’t raise the funds for Red Tails because your potential investors actually read the script? This would have been a good story to tell had it only been told better. It is not worth the $14 price of a movie ticket.
