Great aerial camera work, CGI that's not overdone, and superb sound. In a theater, you truly feel like you're there in 1940, on the wing or in the cockpit, to the extent that any "romance" of air combat is dispelled. (At home, turn up the Dolby Surround.)
Yet the film deserved better. The one character developed with any depth is Victoria Brown, an RAF staffer and drama queen too shallow and selfish to be likable (and for better and worse, totally fictitious according to another account). There are too many mid-way flashbacks. Then the lead character gets sent elsewhere to be an instructor, King George visits the squadron to sign autographs, and the story is over even before the Battle of Britain is. It's consistent with the theme that the Pole's main purpose, as far as Fighter Command was concerned, was to buy time until more British pilots could be trained--mission accomplished. Still, it feels too anti-climactic.
Looking forward to how "Hurricane" tells 303 Squadron's story.
Yet the film deserved better. The one character developed with any depth is Victoria Brown, an RAF staffer and drama queen too shallow and selfish to be likable (and for better and worse, totally fictitious according to another account). There are too many mid-way flashbacks. Then the lead character gets sent elsewhere to be an instructor, King George visits the squadron to sign autographs, and the story is over even before the Battle of Britain is. It's consistent with the theme that the Pole's main purpose, as far as Fighter Command was concerned, was to buy time until more British pilots could be trained--mission accomplished. Still, it feels too anti-climactic.
Looking forward to how "Hurricane" tells 303 Squadron's story.