Escape to the Movies: Red Tails

[maninahat]

I don't think I've ever met a single person who's claimed that they won't see Red Tails because it had something to do with George lucas. Even if they are out there, who cares what they think? Besides Bob, I mean.

Yeah, I was disappointed that Bob felt the need to invent this strawman of an imagined Red Tails backlash just so he could go on a rant about anti-Lucas fanboys. If Red Tails had been directed by Lucas himself then maybe,maybe I could see the scenario that Bob depicts happening. But Bob's irrelevant rant about Lucas haters makes it look like he's the one who can't get over the prequels not the critics.

It is even worse than that. By spending half the review ranting at "anti-Lucas fanboys" (oxymoron?), he accidently makes it look as though he gave Red Tails a pass just to spite the Lucas haters. That obviously wasn't his intention, and I'm sure he watched it objectively, but that's the impression he gives. When you waste time critiquing the audience instead of the movie, your talk about the movie ends up looking like an afterthought; that the movie wasn't important enough to deserve the focus.

 

[Saladfax]

The anti fan rage portion of the review points to the main thing which bugs me about MovieBob in his attitude during all of his different shows. Most of the time, I agree with his viewpoints, but...

Whether intentional or not, he tends to dismiss and even yell at most fan rage out of turn while very often engaging in it himself. It creates an impression that he sees himself as some kind of superior alpha nerd who is the end-all authority on the subject of what is okay and not okay to get fan-ragey about. I honestly don't know if he's that egotistical or if it just seems that way.

I'd actually recommend people watch the Half in the Bag review (by Red Letter Media, same folks as Plinkett reviews but not done in the same style) of Red Tails. It's quite a bit longer, but it's significantly more informative than MovieBob's, and it honestly points out how bad the film actually is, not using fan rage but with an honest analysis.

The other thing I'll mention is that he didn't actually seem to be belittling the Red Letter Media Star Wars reviews, just the people who regurgitate the points. This is evident in the phrase, "Ooh, better go memorize *but miss the actual value of* that seven part..." This implies he finds value in the reviews (which there definitely is), but he hates it when the sheep just repeat someone's well-structured arguments to make themselves feel smart while fan-raging. I agree, such a thing is irritating, but my above point about his hypocritical nature when dealing with the subject remains my principle dislike of his attitude.

 

[Duffeknol]

Half in the Bag tore this movie a new one. I don't really take you seriously any more, Bob.

 

[John Funk]

Do you have other suggestions for the villains in a movie chronicling the struggle of the first US African American fighter pilot squadron? You know, since they fought in World War II and everything, in the European Theater? Where we were fighting the Nazis?

Yeah, I got one.

How about RACIST SEGREGATION POLITICS in the United States??

These men fought for USA but when the fighting was over they went back to society of separate drinking fountains, driving at the back of the bus, Jim Crow laws, and working for a minimum wage.

But of course Lucas isn't gonna do something like that. It's too hard for him. Nazis are so easy. And Lucas is too big of a coward.

So keep stuffing that popcorn down your face and watch the Xplosions.

He wanted to make a big-budget, patriotic, cheesy action movie - the sort of war movie made in the 1950s/60s about WW2 starring John Wayne or whatever, but about the black pilots who *never got* that movie. The story of the Tuskeegee Airmen coming back to a country that still considers them subhuman is poignant, yes, but not an especially vibrant action pic.

Buuuuuuuut, you're aware that Lucas said that if Red Tails did well he wanted to make a sequel and prequel, yes? Because he didn't feel that squeezing that sour homecoming into this movie would have done their struggle justicce, yes?

 

[Samus Aran but a man]

wtf was Bob smoking this is one of the worst films I have ever seen

 

[Triaed]

I loved how at 3:08 you said "... they've come to fight the Nazis" while showing an image of the Pentagon.
The unintended exposition and association is delicious!

 

[Urh]

I find it peculiar that Bob has [a href="http://www.screwattack.com/shows/partners/game-overthinker/game-overthinker-episode-62-seeing-red"]compared[/a] the Call of Duty Modern Warfare series to the shallow, schlocky, overly patriotic war films of the past (and said that video games need to grow up in this regard), and yet here he is praising a film which is being panned by other critics for being a throwback to said schlock. Am I missing something here? Or did Bob simply let his desire to stick it Lucas-haters get in the way of his duties as a film critic?

 

[longboardfan]

Hey Moviebob, its now Feb 11th, and the reviews and final verdicts are in. Red Tails sucks on its own merits and not because of "a bunch of butt hurt Star Wars fans." So maybe get off your bandwagon bashing Star Wars fans for hating Lucas, and stop trying to glorify a boring, banal, and lackluster movie.

Oh, and it wasn't just the Prequels and the rampant unnecessary edits to the original films. Three Words: New Jedi Order.

 

[FFHAuthor]

Half the review for the movie was for another movie...half the review of the titled film was dedicated to criticizing a group tangentially related to the film...and the last quarter of the review had little substance to it. He didn't even mention the excellent made for TV movie that actually resented the story of the Tuskegee airmen and did it well over 15 years ago.

Maybe Moviebob should examine his own motivations with this one, at least the SW Fanboys KNOW they're obsessed with something.

 

[longboardfan]

Hey speaking not mentioning RLM, here's their review of the movie: http://redlettermedia.com/half-in-the-bag-red-tails/

See those two men, they're better than you are, because they actually reviewed the movie. You instead came off as some sort of jilted Lucas apologist who has "not over it" written all over you. Instead of reviewing the movie (even an abridged version), you instead insult those of us who are extremely critical of Lucas' heavy handed and terrible directing and screen writing. Oh, but he didn't write it? Well it sure looks like it was, because the dialog is stilted and hammy, the characters were insulting and boring, and it feels like he needed a black man to hide behind so he wouldn't be called racist.

This movie is bad.

 

[Schoengeist]

Half in the Bag tore this movie a new one. I don't really take you seriously any more, Bob.

My thoughts exactly. Bob can't hold a candle to Mike and Jay.