Certainly not a best picture contender, but a good film. I think what spoiled it was James Franco. He is just not likable and lacks any warmth. Acting lessons?
Perhaps someone like Toby Maguire or even Chris Klein would have been a better choice.
I'd like to know what others think.
Chris Klein? Talk about unlikable...I don't really see Toby M. as the lead either, but he is certainly a much better choice than Chris Klein (but I would have rather seen a live-action SpongeBob as the lead than Chris Klein).
I thought that James Franco was pretty good in the lead. I don't think that JF's acting ability (or lack thereof) had anything to do with the movie not being a hit (after all, there are plenty of actors who have hit movies who can't act at all). I think that the movie probably wasn't marketed very well. Also, there wasn't a really big name actor in the film to draw people in without much marketing (Jean Reno is probably the best known of anyone in the film, and I think that he is a great actor but he can't carry a film in the US).
I liked the film - I thought that the fight scenes were great. The one thing I thought was lacking was character development - we really don't learn much about any of the characters. This wasn't JF's fault and had nothing to do with his acting. I also really didn't get into the relationship between Rawlings and Lucienne, and I think that aspect could had been more interesting.
You bring up some valid points about James Franco and the movie. This was a very good movie and when I saw the priviews of this movie when it came out 3 years ago I wanted to go see it. The problem is that I did not have the money at the time to afford to go. I waited for it to come out on DVD to watch it and like you said there were not that many known actors in the film other than James Franco and Jean Reno.
Now if they added some fire power in the movie like a Brad Pitt, George Clooney as one of the characters, or even the insane one Tom Cruise I am sure it would ahve been a bigger box office success.
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Jake G?
shareThat might work.
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I agree with most of the postings really good movie but i didnt really care about any of the characters.
shareThe characters were more than likely just average though for this movie. If they had written the script better for the characters it would have been a much better movie to watch I think.
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or even the insane one Tom Cruise
i don't think it has anything to do with the james franco either i also think it was because it didn't market very well. i still thought the movie was a good movie and should of gotten more attention!
shareI have worked in 'Da Biz' for over 30 + yrs and I'm part of the aeronautical community: I heard nothing of this film until finding it in my local public library. It's a gem in all ways.
Three reasons for Internet bullying of others with public forum attacks: fear, ignorance and envy.
I'm not convinced the casting was wrong, but the script definitely was. It had the feel of a series pilot: quick overview of the characters but no time to go into detail, simplistic plot (bad guys shoot good guys, good guys' hero gets even and kills über-bad guy). A bit of comic relief here and there (the language and accents, ha ha, how creative, we'd never have seen that one coming...), a bit of romance. It's a good thing the airplanes were nice, but really, with the progress in CGI these days, you see such good stuff in TV series, not just in movies.
If only they'd done a kind of Band of Brothers mini-series with that story, I'm sure it would have gotten more credit.
"Sometimes I'm callous and strange."
I liked it but it really dragged during the relationship scenes. They could have been punchier and when Franco was goofing around with the horse he just looked really stupid. imo
Cindy
It wasn't a hit because James Franco was hardly known a few years ago. I think if he had done that movie now, people would be flocking to see it since his star has risen so high & so fast. The man's on fire now. Personally, I thought it was a bit too long at 2 hours 19 mins, but that may just be me.
shareFranco is the ONLY reason I bought this film! His only 'failing' was his lack of 'action' in the romance scenes. He knows better but the script probably called for a lack of experience because of the age he & Lucienne needed to play. Oh, the air scenes were exceptional!
- Dianna
I thought Franco was fine and wasn't at fault for the movie not being a hit.
I think it wasn't a hit because:
1. as others have pointed out, there wasn't a big name actor in it (other than Jean Reno who can't support a US movie on his own), add Brad Pitt as Rawlings or as the squadron leader and it would probably have been a hit.
2. The relationship scenes totally dragged down the movie. They also didn't connect with the rest of the film and really stuck out.
3. The characters were pretty bare-bones and one-dimensional, and you didn't get too attached to any of them as a result. This wasn't the fault of the actors, it was the script. The only characters I cared about were Beagle and the African American.
It tanked because kids (the ones who flock to the theaters by age group now) didn't even know there was a first world war. This would have been a cool TV series, maybe someday, but that will probably tank as well, maybe if the Brits or French, or Germans or Russians do it (Italians? Japanese? Hungarians?, hell they'd all be cool for a WW1 air geek like me!).
shareI know! Maybe there should be a companion movie told from the German point of view, Flags of our Fathers/Letters from Iwo Jima style. But Flyboys would have made a great mini series, now that HD is commonplace.
GMT+3, no DST
I know! Maybe there should be a companion movie told from the German point of view, Flags of our Fathers/Letters from Iwo Jima style. But Flyboys would have made a great mini series, now that HD is commonplace.
I want to see it! In German with subtitles. If you'll excuse me I'll now search for it to see when it's coming out on Blu-ray.
GMT+3, no DST
Why not a hit? Probably because it just sucked and was a laughable farce.
I wouldn't say that Franco was the cause - he probably drew in the young girls. He certainly has leading man looks, but MAN does he lack a personality. His efforts at wooing that French woman were just laughable because he lacked any CHARM whatsoever. Any self-respecting French woman would have muttered "Encore un americain stupide" and taken off. Acting lessons? How about charm school?
I loved this movie and I'm not a big war movie type...thought James Franco did a good job.
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