Should a movie inspired by true events inspire us? Already in place was a wonderful piece of history that just needed to be told. A crew of African American pilots have endured prejudice, segregation and the lowest priority missions during World War II. They never backed down, hoping that one day they would do what they were trained to do–fly an important mission. How in the world did they come up with this lifeless script is beyond me. What could have been a powerful movie with outstanding characters, sounded so melodramatic and one dimensional; I was bored. It is an utter shame that George Lucas, who bankrolled this movie with his own personal money, could not have hired proper writers. His reason for using his own funds, he has said, was due to the banks fearful to back a movie with a black cast. Is he kidding? I assume they did not want to throw money at a poorly made movie. Now I get it, that actors wanted to be part of this movie, hoping to tell the story of the pilots from the Tuskegee training program. However, in my opinion, Terrence Howard (Iron Man, Hustle & Flow) playing Colonel A.J. Bullard and Nate Parker (The Secret Life of Bees, The Great Debaters) playing Marty “Easy” Julian should get new managers. This movie had no excitement, no strong action scenes and idiotic dialogue. What a shame.

1 1/2 stars