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Red Tails

Play trailer Poster for Red Tails PG-13 Released Jan 20, 2012 2h 5m History Drama War Play Trailer Watchlist
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40% Tomatometer 134 Reviews 57% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
During World War II, the Civil Aeronautics Authority selects 13 black cadets to become part of an experimental program at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. The program aims at training colored personnel to become fighter pilots for the Army. However, discrimination, lack of institutional support and the racist belief that these men lacked the intelligence and aptitude for the job dog their every step. Despite this, the Tuskegee Airmen, as they become known, more than prove their worth.
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Red Tails

Red Tails

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Critics Consensus

Despite a worthy fact-based story and obvious good intentions, Red Tails suffers from one-dimensional characters, corny dialogue, and heaps of clichés.

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Critics Reviews

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Ina Diane Archer Film Comment Magazine One longs for more scenes between the ensemble on the ground, but the emphasis on aerial (and digital) technology leaves the characters without context. Nov 5, 2013 Full Review Tara Brady Irish Times This is a proper war film. That's to say one with crazy dogfights and (no, really) Nazis with prominent scars. Rated: 3/5 Jun 11, 2012 Full Review Phelim O'Neill Guardian The true story of the Tuskegee Airmen, a squadron of African-American second world war flying aces, is one of those amazing tales that you just couldn't make up. Rated: 3/5 Jun 7, 2012 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Reduces a story of triumph over racial prejudice to a standard gung-ho war movie. Rated: 2.5/4 Feb 23, 2023 Full Review Jack Fleischer Battleship Pretension In the end, this movie is exciting to watch, but it's otherwise exceedingly bland. Red Tails simply doesn't do justice to its source material. Mar 24, 2021 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com It's a film that deserves an audience and for its story to be heard. Rated: 2.5/4.0 Sep 21, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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alan g Fair action sequences. Yes they were remarkable men who valiantly served their country. No, they didn't win the war singlehandedly. Cuba Libre still can't act. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/11/25 Full Review Alexander S Red Tails offers a positive portrayal of the Tuskegee program involving one of its very few African American soldiers of World War 2. However, the film’s direction is uneven, and it shifts towards a more clichéd action-packed and adventure blockbuster. While this shift can be entertaining, it neglects the focus on the African-American veterans and their experiences. Grading: C Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/29/25 Full Review Leith P It started in such a corny, jingoistic way that I nearly turned it off. It ended up being a watchable B movie. The Tuskegee airmen deserved a better film. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/19/25 Full Review Atticus S Now this may not be the most realistic movie, or have the best cgi, it is still a fun movie and the flying scenes are captivating Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/03/25 Full Review S. p Despite the poor reception, I genuinely love this movie. Maybe it's just the part of me that loves dogfights. Maybe it's the part if me that loves cultural and military history. Maybe it's both. But I genuinely love this love and it's easily in my top 5 favorites of all time. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/26/24 Full Review Alan A I don't care what the critics say. So, they added some humor to the movie that in opinion, was smart and made the movie more enjoyable. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/30/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Red Tails

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Movie Info

Synopsis During World War II, the Civil Aeronautics Authority selects 13 black cadets to become part of an experimental program at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. The program aims at training colored personnel to become fighter pilots for the Army. However, discrimination, lack of institutional support and the racist belief that these men lacked the intelligence and aptitude for the job dog their every step. Despite this, the Tuskegee Airmen, as they become known, more than prove their worth.
Director
Anthony Hemingway
Producer
Rick McCallum, Charles Floyd Johnson
Screenwriter
John Ridley, Aaron McGruder
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Lucasfilm Ltd.
Rating
PG-13 (Some Seq. of War Violence)
Genre
History, Drama, War
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 20, 2012, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA)
$49.9M
Runtime
2h 5m
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