Movies You Have Not Seen But Should: Red Tails

1

No snakes on these planes; it’s this week’s Movies You Have Not Seen But Should!

Movies Featured

Red Tails

Time once again for Movies You Have Not Seen But Should. For this week, we will look at the 2012 historical war drama Red Tails. The film’s stars include Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrance Howard, Michael B. Jordan, and David Oyelowo.

The story of the film is based on the true story of the Tuskegee Airmen. This group of fighter pilots was the first squadron of African-American pilots that flew over Europe during World War II. They were a key component to the Allies winning the war.

As the film begins, it is 1944. The European Theater of the war has been raging for years but the tide is slowly beginning to turn. The need for men to fight is high and especially in the skies. The 332d Fighter Group (aka Tuskegee Airmen) finally get the call and are sent to combat in Italy. The group included Capt. Martin “Easy” Julian (played by Nate Parker), 1st Lt. Joe “Lightning” Little (played by Oyelowo), 2nd Lt. Ray “Ray Gun” Gannon (played by Tristan Wilds), 2nd Lt. Andrew “Smokey” Salem (played by Ne-Yo), and 2nd Lt. Samuel “Joker” George (Elijah Kelley). The men that led the regiment were Major Emanuel Stance (played by Gooding Jr.) and Col. A.J. Bullard (played by Howard).
The 332d faced racism in the barricks and conflict in the skies. They would have to deal with loss and sacrifice while fighting for their country and each other. In the end, their effort in going above and beyond the call of duty was integral in defeating the Germans.

The film also stars Daniela Ruah, Bryan Cranston, Method Man, Gerald McRainey and Josh Dallas. It was produced by Lucasfilm and was a project that George Lucas fought to get made. Lucas had a hand in the film as he directed re-shoots of the picture (he was uncredited in the credits). The film itself was co-produced by Rick McCallum, who helped produce the Special Editions of the original Star Wars trilogy as well as the prequel trilogy of Star Wars. The film was released in theaters on January 20, 2012.

Red Tails is available on DVD, Blu-Ray, and Amazon Instant Streaming. It’s a great historical film that’s worth checking out. It’s a film that you may not have seen, but you should.

About author

1 comment

Post a new comment