Red Tails

Fighter pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen played a small but critical role in American air operations in Europe during World War II. Because the squadron was comprised entirely of black aviators during times of widespread segregation, the unit’s contributions were even more significant.

Yet there’s only a fraction of that story found in Red Tails, a flag-waving tribute that both simplifies and sanitizes the war to a trivial degree. While loaded with good intentions, the film unfortunately has the historical accuracy of Pearl Harbor and the in-flight authenticity of Top Gun.

It’s almost as if director Anthony Hemingway, making his feature debut, and his team either didn’t have enough faith that their heroic true-life story would tell itself, or didn’t have enough confidence that the audience would buy it without overstating the obvious (the Nazis were evil and the white Americans were ignorant racists).

The members of the U.S. Army Air Corps unit were forced to fight on two fronts — following orders and serving the needs of their country, and convincing doubters that their skin color wasn’t a deterrent when it came to courage or flying skill. Leading the charge are a squadron leader (Nate Parker) battling alcoholism, the arrogant ladies’ man (David Oyelowo) whose daredevil tendencies put his unit at risk, and a wounded young pilot (Tristan Wilds) who becomes captured by the enemy.

The film features some exciting airborne combat sequences and instances of amusing behind-the-scenes camaraderie among the pilots, but doesn’t put them into historical context or offer much insight into the squadron’s significance in the overall war. The fictional characters are shallow and stereotypical.

One of the driving forces behind the film is George Lucas, who provided much of the financing and serves as executive producer. However, screenwriter John Ridley (Undercover Brother) indulges in wartime cliches in a script that’s also credited by Aaron McGruder, the creator of the clever and acerbic “Boondocks” comic strip.

The unsubtle approach and haphazard production values overshadow some fine performances by a handful of promising young actors, including Parker (Blood Done Sign My Name), Oyelowo (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and Wilds (The Secret Life of Bees).

This isn’t the first time the story of the Tuskegee Airmen has been told on screen, but it’s likely the most prominent. And their legacy deserves better than this sledgehammer tale of comic-book heroism.

Rated PG-13, 125 minutes.