Beautifully done, loved everything they put on screen, but... the story was not that great. Huge airplane nerd here so I loved many parts more than the average person I suspected, but it suffered from Biopic Syndrome. Too much a series of disjointed vignettes. People disappear for half the movie then come back with great consequence. Important things happen off screen. There's much hamhanded dialog to explain these gaps. Etc. Maybe it's me but I truly hate that stuff. Give bad reviews to beloved biopics because to me: not a movie.
Also, I was surprised to find the one sorta controversy is really, really obvious. All the airplane designers with useful dialog, not just the hero, explicitly mention they build "fighters" or "bombers," and discuss the guns or payload of bombs or so. They discuss the survivability in combat, and everything. They then claim it's love of flight, and insist they are not "arms merchants," but... aren't they? I'd be happier if they'd admit it, we'd see a justification instead of this weird pretending it's not a problem. Stuck out, a lot, to me.
Also, I was surprised to find the one sorta controversy is really, really obvious. All the airplane designers with useful dialog, not just the hero, explicitly mention they build "fighters" or "bombers," and discuss the guns or payload of bombs or so. They discuss the survivability in combat, and everything. They then claim it's love of flight, and insist they are not "arms merchants," but... aren't they? I'd be happier if they'd admit it, we'd see a justification instead of this weird pretending it's not a problem. Stuck out, a lot, to me.