'Red Tails': Don't Waste Your Evening

The sad truth about "Red Tails" is that the men it seeks to recognize become cartoon characters in a movie that winds up glorifying war.

In a film where the star is special effects, some decent actors (Cuba Gooding Jr. among them) are wasted with lockerroom rah-rah speeches and sportsbar conversation. There is nothing courageous about the movie--it depicts these men as victims rather than honest Americans fighting for their country--and there is little to recommend it beyond its look.

I would love to see an honest look at these African-American pilots who acquited themselves well in one of the more difficult theaters of the war, but it doesn't look like that's on the horizon and this certainly wasn't it.