You have to wonder what audience they were gunning for with Flyboys. The setting — the dogfight-scarred skies of the Great War — suggests an appeal to greying men usually slumped in front of The History Channel. Yet the look and fresh-faced cast seem geared for sugar-dependent teens. Flyboy ended up attracting neither demographic on its Stateside release.
Still, it’s curiously entertaining, kind of like watching a dumb, dizzy puppy chase its tail. Each mission plays out like a cross between a teen soap and a flight-sim videogame, culminating in one ‘boss’ encounter as our heroes try to stop the Death Star — sorry, a giant Zeppelin — from destroying Alderaan — sorry, Paris. It’s like Star Wars… with gravity!
