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Red Tails

PG-13 Released Jan 20, 2012 2h 5m History Drama War List
40% Tomatometer 135 Reviews 57% Audience Score 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. Read More Read Less
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Red Tails

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Red Tails

What to Know

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

View All (135) Critics Reviews
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

View All (1000+) audience reviews
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 Tim C The weakest most mediocre attempt at this story Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 12/12/23 Full Review Qwett Q Despite others having negative reviews, this is by far one of the greatest and best movies I have ever watched. This is my favorite movie of all time and I recommend others to watch. Sure, some parts could be better but this doesn't take away from the fact that this movie is amazing. The plot, action, and feelings that come from this movie are incomparable to other films. This movie gives the Tuskegee airmen justice. Best movie. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/26/23 Full Review Unrealistic waste of time Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 06/26/23 Full Review MrDontCare I just love this movie. Must have seen it over 10 times by now. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/14/23 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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