The only really good bits of the movie are the aerial sequences. The film showing the aircraft in flight (and even a few of the parked shots) is well-done and shows off the aircraft beautifully.
There are even a few bits with vehicles that are beautifully restored.
The script, however, is a mess. "Inspired by true events" is a get out of jail card for any total mess that excuses wannabe action movie makers. If you have access to all that gorgeous hardware, why not make sure your story is even vaguely plausible?
Two of the most obvious and glaring errors are the never-emptying magazines/don't need to work the bolt rifle and mismatched uniforms and slovenly dress and bearing for what is supposed to be an elite unit. Add to this terrible German accents that are so thick you can cut planks with them, and inconsistent, at that. Oh, and stereotypes galore in the characters.
The mish-mash of aircraft, uniforms and equipment is apallingly wrong, as is the very idea of transport drivers being held for any length of time in the same impromptu prison facility as a group of pilots from an aeroplane that's just been forced to land and appears repaired within hours? And don't even get me started on a pilot being a better infantryman than the entire cast of Saving Private Ryan put together, and taking on an entire squad in both a shooting match and hand-to-hand combat.
Oh, and what about a flimsy car (Kübelwagen) being bullet-proof and protecting an entire crew from being hit by a barrage of small-arms fire? Barrels of fuel being piled haphazardly in and around a hangar, and exploding on demand when shot, but not when a grenade goes off near them? Masses of soldiers firing at a concentrated group but not hitting ANYTHING, while that group manages to hit with just about every shot using unfamiliar weapons? I could go on, but what's the point?
Frankly, if I'd known exactly how terrible it is, I wouldn't have watched it. My suggestion? IF you're a plane-nut, have the movie on in the background, watch the aerial footage (but mostly ignore the combat), and forward past the rest.
There are even a few bits with vehicles that are beautifully restored.
The script, however, is a mess. "Inspired by true events" is a get out of jail card for any total mess that excuses wannabe action movie makers. If you have access to all that gorgeous hardware, why not make sure your story is even vaguely plausible?
Two of the most obvious and glaring errors are the never-emptying magazines/don't need to work the bolt rifle and mismatched uniforms and slovenly dress and bearing for what is supposed to be an elite unit. Add to this terrible German accents that are so thick you can cut planks with them, and inconsistent, at that. Oh, and stereotypes galore in the characters.
The mish-mash of aircraft, uniforms and equipment is apallingly wrong, as is the very idea of transport drivers being held for any length of time in the same impromptu prison facility as a group of pilots from an aeroplane that's just been forced to land and appears repaired within hours? And don't even get me started on a pilot being a better infantryman than the entire cast of Saving Private Ryan put together, and taking on an entire squad in both a shooting match and hand-to-hand combat.
Oh, and what about a flimsy car (Kübelwagen) being bullet-proof and protecting an entire crew from being hit by a barrage of small-arms fire? Barrels of fuel being piled haphazardly in and around a hangar, and exploding on demand when shot, but not when a grenade goes off near them? Masses of soldiers firing at a concentrated group but not hitting ANYTHING, while that group manages to hit with just about every shot using unfamiliar weapons? I could go on, but what's the point?
Frankly, if I'd known exactly how terrible it is, I wouldn't have watched it. My suggestion? IF you're a plane-nut, have the movie on in the background, watch the aerial footage (but mostly ignore the combat), and forward past the rest.