This film is entertaining but the first half seems somewhat at odds with the second half. The first is a thrilling adventure where stunt pilot Waldo and His girlfriends brother are trying to develop a new type of airplane after WWI. The second half is more of a character study of war pilots suffering from PTSD malaise, to the point of suicide. They don't really go together well. Two unexpected deaths in the middle of the film are a jarring slap in the face. Some reviewers have mentioned how the actors did plane stunt work themselves, but I think it was mostly very careful editing. Almost every time that the actors were shot at close range, so you could clearly see their face, it was shot from below them, where you couldn't tell how high they were off the ground, or if they were off the ground at all. When they were shown from farther away, where their faces weren't clearly visible, I think those were stunt performers, who were obviously high above the ground. Very well done with exciting dogfight scenes, but a disappointing story overall.
Review of The Great Waldo Pepper
