4.5 Stars (out of 5) Rated PG-13

Synopsis

The 332nd Fighter Group, an all-black World War II unit made up of the best escort pilots and known as the Red Tails, fights racism at home while fighting the Nazis abroad in this action-packed drama based on the true story of the Tuskegee Airmen.

Starring:

Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Ne-Yo, Elijah Kelley, Bryan Cranston, Tristan Wilds, Lee Tergesen, Method Man, Andre Royo

Director:

Anthony Hemingway

Blu-ray Release Date:

May 22, 2012

Subtitles:

English SDH, Spanish

Rating

Overall rating weighted as follows:

Audio 40%, Video 40%, Special Features 20%, Movie - its just our opinion so take it with a grain of salt

Audio 4.5 Stars (out of 5)

Dolby and DTS Demo Discs used as basis for comparison

Subwoofer - 4.0 Stars

Dialog - 5.0 Stars

Surround Effects - 4.0 Stars

Dynamic Range - 5.0 Stars

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1

Propeller planes and flack never sounded so good. Red Tails delivers the bombers with this DTS-HD mix. Swooping planes and whizzing bullets utilize surround speakers and fill the sky with sounds of World War II battle. The subwoofer also gets into the action by delivering tight bass filled explosions and heavy throttling fighter planes. Dialog never gets lost in the action, and overall the presentation never sounds flat.

Video 4.8 Stars (out of 5)

Spears & Munsil Benchmark Blu-ray Edition used as basis for comparison

Color Accuracy - 5.0 Stars

Shadow detail - 4.5 Stars

Clarity - 4.5 Stars

Skin tones - 5.0 Stars

Compression - 5.0 Stars

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC, Resolution: 1080p, Aspect ratio: 2.40:1, Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

I've seen so many black and white documentaries of World War II; I almost forget color existed in the 1940's. Red Tails not only gives life to World War II, it has some of the most colorful and warm presentations I've seen on Blu-ray. Beautiful blue skies are filled with fluffy white clouds, bright red hues of fires draw your attention, fields and forests are vividly green, and of course the red tails of the P-51 airplanes stand out in the sky. A few details are lost and the shadows, but the clarity is good enough to make out every rivet on the planes, see the details in the clothing, and notice beard stubble on the cleanest shaved faces.

Bonus Features 4.0 Stars (out of 5)

Double Victory: The Tuskegee Airmen at War (1080p, 1:05:07): A hour-long documentary narrated by Cuba Gooding, Jr. that details the true story of the Tuskegee airmen.

George Lucas: Executive Producer (1080p, 3:26): A brief interview piece with George Lucas.

Anthony Hemingway: Director (1080p, 5:30): Interview with the up and coming director.

Terrance Blanchard: Composer (1080p, 6:15): A short featurette about the scoring of the film.

The Cast of Red Tails (1080p, 25:11): Lots of cast interviews and behind-the-scenes footage.

Movie Magic (1080p, 5:12): A look at the detailed CGI used to recreate WWII on screen.

Movie - 3.5 Stars (out of 5)

Review

Red Tails is a solid film that honors the trail blazing Tuskegee Airmen by showcasing their heroism instead of making them victims. I've seen movies based on this story before, but none have been this close to the truth or featured such exciting action sequences. I shouldn't be surprised the action was so good considering George Lucas supervised it all. The dogfights use the camera to put you in the action and it's easy to keep track of the planes in the air. I was a little scared of the acting and directing in the first act, but the slight corny feel of the film faded away and the story took center stage. This story is unique to American history, and it honors the true story without being too preachy about it's message.