Hannibal Lee (Laurence Fishburne) is eager to join the war. The young Iowa country boy and airplane enthusiast joins the US Army Air Corps' Fighter Pilot Program known as the "Tuskegee Airman". He and others face many hurdles including racist Senator Conyers (John Lithgow) as they become the celebrated airmen deployed into battle.
This is good for TV movie. It is an HBO production. It hits all the landmarks from the racist train ride to the racist trainer to the racist politician to the racist flyers. It does hit some points too hard and goes into melodrama territory. The most glaring is Peoples' exit. Not only is it melodrama, it's also the exact thing that the racists say about black pilots. They say that negro flyers are too emotional and viola, have an overly emotional performance. It seems to me that Lt. Glen would tell Peoples to go north and join the Canadians as he did earlier in the war. In their zeal to make a point, it makes the opposite point. Sometimes, less is more. The main point of the Tuskegee Airmen is that they were the discipline pilots who protected the bombers while the white pilots did not. They were professionals who had more training while the white pilots were rushed and green. The best moment demonstrating that is when they each list their college education. They need to be all Jackie Robinson who took all the racist insults without complaint or surprise. Jackie expected the hatred and worked despite it. Lee and a few others embodied that spirit. A few others did not. As for the aerial combat, there are some old footage as well as the use of real vintage planes. It's good enough for pre-CGI era. It's a solid TV movie.
This is good for TV movie. It is an HBO production. It hits all the landmarks from the racist train ride to the racist trainer to the racist politician to the racist flyers. It does hit some points too hard and goes into melodrama territory. The most glaring is Peoples' exit. Not only is it melodrama, it's also the exact thing that the racists say about black pilots. They say that negro flyers are too emotional and viola, have an overly emotional performance. It seems to me that Lt. Glen would tell Peoples to go north and join the Canadians as he did earlier in the war. In their zeal to make a point, it makes the opposite point. Sometimes, less is more. The main point of the Tuskegee Airmen is that they were the discipline pilots who protected the bombers while the white pilots did not. They were professionals who had more training while the white pilots were rushed and green. The best moment demonstrating that is when they each list their college education. They need to be all Jackie Robinson who took all the racist insults without complaint or surprise. Jackie expected the hatred and worked despite it. Lee and a few others embodied that spirit. A few others did not. As for the aerial combat, there are some old footage as well as the use of real vintage planes. It's good enough for pre-CGI era. It's a solid TV movie.