Interesting that there's so many negative comments about this film involving accuracy on all levels . The historical adviser is one Jack Livesey , a battle hardened veteran of the British Army who did several tours of Northern Ireland and won the coveted Military Medal during the 1982 Falklands conflict where he served with the 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment . You name it Livesey has seen it , done it and written the book about it so it's only fitting the likes of Hollywood should employ a real warrior like Livesey if they're making a nihilistic film about the slaughter of millions and FLYBOYS is the result . The fact that it's a plane crash of a movie is mainly down to Livesey who made headlines of his own five years later when he found himself up in court

As it transpired Livesey who claimed he was the military adviser on SAVING PRIVATE RYAN , BAND OF BROTHERS and a host of other Hollywood blockbusters was fraudulently claiming incapacity benefit in 2004 . He bigged himself that he was a traumatised war veteran who had seen so much death and destruction on countless battlefields in his military career of over 20 years the judge treated him kindly . The problem was it later came to light his military career was confined to the Catering Corps from the end of 1971 to the start of 1974 when he was discharged under services no longer required . The lies he told in court led to him being charged for perverting the course of justice and in 2011 Livesey was sentenced to three years in jail

Watching FLYBOYS the only film that employed Livesey as a historical adviser - and no before you ask SPR and BOB had Dale Dyer as historical adviser not Livesey - you wonder how stupid the producers were to employ him . I'm pretty sure the average schoolboy is better informed about the first world war than anyone who worked on this big budget flop such as the Germans not having spiked helmets or significant amounts of tanks in 1917

It's the laws of physics being continually broken that rankle more than anything . The planes seen here resemble the spaceships seen in STAR WARS rather than the ones seen in WW1 They can fly in a straight dive then suddenly manage to pull out of the dive five feet from the ground . A shell exploding mere inches from the aircraft causes no damage whatsoever and ditto being shot by several hundred bullets

Even from a narrative point of view supposedly inspired by true events FLYBOYS gives way to cloying cliché similar to that in PEARL HARBOR . When neutral Americans cross the Atlantic to join democratic Europe in the fight against aggression and shout " Get me in to a goddamn plane . I think world war one has just started " you know what's coming next . Nice to know that FLYBOYS cost $60 million and recouped $13 million at the US box office . Maybe the should have used the accountant as historical adviser and put Jack Livesey in charge of production costs . It would have made for a more realistic and better film

This is the story of American volunteers who fought for the French during World War I before America entered the war. It is based on a true story, and largely faithful to that story. The first world war was the first "ugly" war. It is the first war where, as one of the characters observes, "Neither side will win. It will just end." And, this movie does not shrink away from showing the horror, the ugliness, and the overwhelming grimness of war.

Because the special effects made it possible, more than any movie in recent memory, it graphically shows the excitement and the adrenaline rush of combat flying. The combat sequences are nothing short of dazzling; they were so good I could experience vicariously the rush of bullets tearing through cloth fuselages, the spins and turns, and dips and climbs, and barrel rolls, and dives, and with all that, I could look inside myself and know I did not have the courage to do what they did. In the end, that's what this story is about, and the love story, the individual pilot lives fade into the background.

Still, it's worth noting, one of the movie's best moments is the denouement where we learn what happened to the Americans of the Lafayette Escadrille, those who survived. I won't spoil it for you, just know that truth is stranger than fiction, and often a good deal sadder. I enjoyed Flyboys for what it was: the chance to vicariously experience the adrenaline rush of aerial combat. Performances were good, and Jean Reno was great as the captain of the Lafayette Escadrille. Nice popcorn flick.

I must point out first that I saw this film on DVD, so please keep this in mind. Many of the aerial scenes might have looked far less realistic on the big screen, though on my television set it was a beautiful film--and the almost constant use of CG flying sequences came off much better than I'd expected. The improvement in quality of the CG over just a year or two before is amazing. For example, with SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW (a technically brilliant film),the CG is often very noticeable despite the studio's best efforts to make it all look real. Here in FLYBOYS, the planes so often looked almost 100% real--and I was particularly impressed by the zeppelin scene--it was simply amazing.

Now as for the story, it centers on a group of American volunteers for the Lafayette Escadrille and much of the focus is on a character played by James Franco. While this story is only based on the real story (with fictitious characters),many are patterned after real-life pilots and many of the details show that the film makers really tried hard to get it right. I think this worked very well and gave much more insight than usual into the motivations, fears and pressure on the men than most aviation films.

The only bad aspect of this amazing films were a couple clichéd moments with Franco. In the worst case, he actually lands in the middle of a battlefield to rescue a friend! While it was possible to land a plane for a rescue, not in the middle of no man's land and how did they manage to dodge thousands of bullets and howitzer shells?!?! Second, the later rescue mission was exciting to watch but completely unbelievable--though not nearly as bad as the first one.

For aviation fans and history lovers, this film merits a 9. For the public in general, perhaps a 7. So I'll split the difference and give it an 8.