George Lucas can be credited for a lot of things, one of which is the creation of my beloved Star Wars.  My adoration for his original trilogy continues because the films clearly pit good versus evil, which appeals to my Catholic sensibilities.  If you listen to him in interviews, however, you will hear somewhat of an embittered tone despite his success.  He started his career as an independent filmmaker, making lower budget productions that pushed the boundaries of cinematography.  The argument has been made that Star Wars was a continuation of that endeavor, although he seems ill suited to his success.  He has always challenged the major studio system, and his descriptions of today’s film, Red Tails (2012), underscore his disdain.  Though he was merely an executive producer, and the main financier for today’s entry, his meddling led to something that is not quite satisfactory for himself or the historian.

The people who are dissatisfied at the start of Red Tails are the United States Army Air Force (USAF) bomber pilots who watch their fighter escorts chase their German counterparts whenever the enemy Messerschmitts appear in the air.  As a result, many American Flying Fortresses are shot down.  Meanwhile, in Italy four pilots of the 332^nd Fighter Group are patrolling in their P-40s.  Before going on, I should mention that there are a lot of characters in this film, and I will not be able to cover all of them.  It is two of these, Captain Martin “Easy” Julian (Nate Parker), the flight leader, and his wingman, 1^st Lieutenant Joe “Lightning” Little (David Oyelowo), who are the two main ones.  As they are soaring along, they spot a German munitions train and attack.  Captain Julian’s approach is by the book, but Lieutenant Little has his own idea of how it should be done.  While they are successful in destroying their target, Captain Julian is not happy about Lieutenant Little’s lack of following orders, despite the friendship between the two bunkmates.  Though their immediate commanding officer, Major Emanuel Stance (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is pleased with their efforts, the officer in overall charge of the 332^nd, Colonel A. J. Bullard (Terrence Howard), is in Washington D.C. to answer questions related to their performance.  Certain high-ranking officials in the military, like Colonel William Mortamus (Bryan Cranston), are citing reports and rumors that the Tuskegee Airmen who formed the unit are not fit for duty.  On top of unverified claims of poor conduct and racialized theories about the 332^nd’s abilities, Colonel Mortamus is saying the unit is not producing enough results.  Colonel Bullard pushes back, saying that they have been given the lightest of duties to this point, being tasked with watching areas where there is little enemy activity.  Standing up for the 332^nd is Colonel Jack Tomlinson (Lee Tergesen), a friend of Colonel Bullard’s, who uses his pull at the Pentagon to get the all African American fighter group more action.  Before this occurs, back in Italy Lieutenant Little has found an Italian woman, Sofia (Daniela Ruah), that he begins courting.  As he gets to know her, he walks past the officer’s club in the town next to the base and stops for a drink.  Before he can get to the bar, he is told to leave and is the subject of a racial slur.  His reaction is to throw punches, which gets him thrown in jail.  This is where Captain Julian finds his partner in the air.  While Major Stance lets Lieutenant Little back into duty, the newly freed pilot still has to patch things up with his flight leader, though this is done before the 332^nd is tasked with providing cover for an invasion . . . somewhere.  This movie is vague on its history, but this is the point in the story when these fighters come up against their German peers in the sky.  There are a few air-to-air kills by the title team, then Captain Julian and Lieutenant Little follow a damaged German craft back to its base where they do more damage.  While Captain Julian guides one of their wounded comrades, 2^nd Lieutenant Ray “Ray Gun, Junior” Gannon (Tristan Wilds), Lieutenant Little follows the coastline and takes on a destroyer.  Based on their heroics in this mission, Lieutenant General Luntz (Gerald McRaney) requests of Colonel Bullard that the 332^nd be transferred to the coveted bomber escort duty.  Everyone is excited, though Lieutenant Little is not as thrilled by the prospect of having to stick close to the planes they will be protecting.  Even so, their new assignment means new fighters, P-51s, and they paint them in the eponymous pattern.  It is difficult to see why he would be complaining because his relationship with Sofia is going well.  As for Captain Julian, he rushes Lieutenant Gannon back to duty, even if the wounded flier is not entirely ready to be in the cockpit.  This shows when the young man’s aircraft is shot up during their first flight, forcing Lieutenant Gannon to bail out over Germany where he is captured.  This commences The Great Escape (1963) portion of the film, when we witness him become a part of a tunneling scheme at the prisoner of war camp.  Meanwhile, Lieutenant Little makes a pact with Captain Julian that if the latter stops drinking, the former will be more attentive to the leader’s orders.  This becomes all the more important once another of their comrades crashes and barely survives, with Lieutenant Little smelling liquor on Captain Julian’s breath.  While Captain Julian takes this latest loss personally, Lieutenant Little has other matters occupying his mind.  Namely, Lieutenant Little has asked Sofia to marry him, and she eventually says yes.  This comes just before they go on their biggest mission yet, escorting a bombing run on Berlin.  Originally, the 332^nd is only supposed to fly part way, but end up going the full distance when the assigned craft do not appear.  Doing so puts the title squadron against the new German jet fighters.  It is while taking on one of these that Lieutenant Little is killed.  Everyone takes the loss hard, and it is left to Captain Julian to inform Sofia.

The final scene of Red Tails features the surviving pilots and support crew lining up to receive their well-deserved plaudits for their service.  Some critics of the movie wish there had been a greater focus on the racism with which the 332^nd had to contend, though that asinine attitude towards non-whites rears its ugly head in a number of places.  The main problem with the film for a reviewer is the unevenness of the story.  With so many characters, it is hard to get behind any of them in depth.  What did satisfy this Catholic were the scenes that took place in the chapel, and other moments of prayer.  I also wonder how some Christians will react to 2^nd Lieutenant David “The Deacon” Watkins’ (Marcus T. Paulk) Black Jesus.  It is a small icon of Our Savior he carries with him, putting it on his cockpit dashboard.  There should be little problem with calling Jesus “black,” particularly here in the United States.  Historically speaking in this country, anyone who had as little as one-eighth non-white blood in them was considered to be something other than Anglo-Saxon, or whatever other designation you want to give these made-up categories known as race.  Further, Jesus came from a part of the world where people are traditionally of a slightly darker complexion, so thinking of the Messiah as being white is silly.  Some will say that He is above such designations, which is just as true a statement as insisting the God must be a man.  At the same time, the Church has taught for centuries that Jesus was fully human.  This means He likely took on the biological characteristics of Mary, who was born like the rest of us.  This is kind of a minor point in the film, although Lieutenant Watkins’ possession of the icon is mentioned a number of times.

What could also be discussed at length with Red Tails is the sacrifice these pilots are willing to endure for the white bombardiers who initially despised the 332^nd on the basis of their skin color.  I will grant that the tone is uneven, and it cannot decide on the kind of movie it should be, but there is some value in watching it.  Still, there are better options.