'Flyboys' sputters on takeoff

FLYBOYS — ** 1/2 — James Franco, Martin Henderson, Jean Reno; rated PG-13 (violence, profanity, brief gore, vulgarity, racial epithets).

Like the vintage, dual-winged aircraft it showcases, the movie "Flyboys" sputters a bit while starting up and even has some trouble getting off the ground.

Once it does get aloft, however, this World War I drama flies perfectly well. It's just the journey getting there — as well as some of the groundbound bits in between — that drag it down a little.

To be honest, this old-fashioned kind of adventure and romance is appealing. And the thrilling air-battle scenes alone will make it worthwhile for war buffs and aircraft aficionados.

"Flyboys" is based on the true story of some of the pilots who flew for the Lafayette Escadrille, the United States' first squadron of fighter pilots.

This heavily fictionalized version looks at the first group of volunteers who enlisted in the Escadrille and fought in the war — before America even officially entered the fray.

Among them is Blaine Rawlings (James Franco), a bankrupt young rancher who literally has nowhere else to go. Blaine and his fellow volunteers take their orders from Capt. Thenault (Jean Reno) and are trying to heed the advice of another American pilot, Reed Cassidy (New Zealand actor Martin Henderson), a grizzled veteran who's seen his share of friends fall before the better-equipped and better-trained German air fighters.

The overstuffed script was crafted by a trio of writers, including "Major League" creator David S. Ward. They even introduce a love interest for Blaine — a French farm girl named Lucienne (Jennifer Decker), who winds up being endangered by German invaders.

Surprisingly, that's one of the better writing choices. This particular subplot helps flesh out the lead character, and Franco's solid performance is quite good.

But despite director Tony Bill's terrific staging of the aerial battles, there are a few clunky, cliched moments. In particular, a religiously devout pilot (Michael Jibson) is played in a hokey manner that is almost laughable.

"Flyboys" is rated PG-13 for strong war violence (aerial dogfights, shootings and explosive mayhem), scattered profanity, brief gore, some suggestive references and vulgar humor (including a bodily function gag), and use of racial epithets and ethnic slurs. Running time: 139 minutes.

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