The biggest problem with this movie - and there are several - is that it tries to turn a scientific discovery into a dramatic feature-length film. Yes, Hollywood had done that successfully with biops of Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and others. But this time it just doesn't work. The eventual development of a pressure suit that allows fighter pilots to dive thousands of feet from great heights was certainly an important advance in military aviation. But it just doesn't make for a gripping story.
It doesn't help that efforts to add a *human element* are weak. Yes, there is the beautiful Alexis Smith, but her role is underwritten and none of the men really fall in love with her. That singular devotion to duty is admirable, of course, but not very interesting in a movie.
Yes, there are several instances here of brave men sacrificing their lives to further the military science we will need to win the war (which we hadn't entered yet, but it was inevitable by 1941). And there is Max Steiner's stirring music to make them even more inspiring.
But at two hours, this movie is way too long for the story it wants to tell. It would have been better as a 15-20 minute documentary.
It doesn't help that efforts to add a *human element* are weak. Yes, there is the beautiful Alexis Smith, but her role is underwritten and none of the men really fall in love with her. That singular devotion to duty is admirable, of course, but not very interesting in a movie.
Yes, there are several instances here of brave men sacrificing their lives to further the military science we will need to win the war (which we hadn't entered yet, but it was inevitable by 1941). And there is Max Steiner's stirring music to make them even more inspiring.
But at two hours, this movie is way too long for the story it wants to tell. It would have been better as a 15-20 minute documentary.