This is an impressive and mature film with few flaws... but there are flaws. For example, Kyle starts out as a smart and self-sufficient kid. About 30 minutes in he loses it and becomes average. His precocious wisdom and talent comes back, but the script needed that lapse to create the subsequent story. That was a shame. The young actors playing the two principle boys were breathtaking. Overall, this script is great, but I'd be willing to wager that the stupidities I noticed were put there by the producers or the studio execs who had no confidence in the original script. Fortunately, something good was left after their dissection... a rare event.
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Again... Who is writing these reviews?!?! These filmmakers must have a huge extended family, cause each one of them apparently started an IMDb account and reviewed ONLY "Flyboys"
I saw this film with very receptive audience, and I think that helped me enjoy it more. The story is pretty convoluted, but I'll do my best a quick synopsis: Two young boys stow away in a strange plane that gets stolen, flown into the air and abandoned with a bomb on board. The boys then have to land the plane. THEN there's this business about the Mafia and millions of dollars and, well... You get the picture (maybe).
Anyway, the movie had great promise for being an Indie. The acting was better than the average, and the cinematography was great. It had a bigger budget than most Indie's so the production value stands out amongst other unseen films. But, just as I was getting into the story and the characters... WHAM! There's Steven Baldwin! All pretense of an Indie film was gone and his face took me right out of the picture.
I still enjoyed it, though, and you could do a lot worse if you see this one at Hollywood Video. -
mattholzmann-129 April 2008Saw it at the Newport Beach Film Festival. Excellent production values and execution for a very low budget film ($2 Million).
Excellent character development, great action sequences, wonderful performances by a mostly unknown cast. A bit long, but it had the audience cheering.
Most stunt sequences were filmed real time and came out better than CGI.
Went in with no preconceptions and was very pleasantly surprised.
Great film for ages 12+ (some violence). Someone should latch onto this for distribution quick. -
helenpike20046 April 2008I saw this film Friday night, April 4, 2008 at the Garden State Film Festival in Asbury Park, NJ, and was captivated from the moment it started. "The Flyboys" is a terrific story with well-written dialogue. All the actors turned in believable performances: You wanted to see what their characters would do. The stunt work is phenomenal, and genuine (no gimmicks); so, too, is the camera work. The musical score is good (not over-powering). That commercial Hollywood passed on this film proposal is a telling commentary of just how out-of-touch the studio system is with what middle-class America will pay to see in a movie theater as part of a night out for the whole family.
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ali-mostaque30 October 2008Its an OK movie, though I wouldn't encourage kids to watch it. It would make them delusional, thinking that some how dangerous situations can be escaped from that easily. Though the basic concept of standing up to wrong is morally good training for impressionable American kids.
Good.
Cliché cryptic nods in this direction is tiresome, though curiously observed. Indeed the MAFIA have taken over the USA, and YES Americans have a right royal fight in their hands to reclaim their country from the criminals, who treat Americans like stupid kids.
The world hopes they succeed.
A lot of the scenes seem improbable, but I suppose in a movie you can get away with such fantasy. In post 9/11 America carried out by the MAFIA, security is hot wired and the criminals in the movie wouldn't be able to wander around neighborhoods without the local law enforcement agents being in the scene more quickly......
In terms of the characters, the villain wasn't villainous enough......he seemed more like a junkie than a harden criminal, who had stolen millions from his boss, and killed his partner in crime. The head MAFIA's performance was comical, playing with the kids like that, and crying like that. And its a bit of a cliché and racist to see yet another bunch of Italian Americans being portrayed as MAFIA. And Mr. Baldwin as Southern Italian? As a person who generally plays good guy roles I would have liked to have seen his role and character develop a lot longer into the film, even to the end. He has a certain screen presence.....good actor.
Where are the true Tom Payne's to encourage and inspire Americans? Yes watch the movie but don't take the kids with you. -
RosanaBotafogo28 May 2020Very cute, those Afternoon Session movies with heroine detective kids, really nice to watch...
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KM_3917 April 2008"What's wrong with Hollywood?" you say? Well, for one, there's no one there who recognized the genius in this film, released as "The Flyboys," rather than "Sky Kids," the original title. And let me clear the air right away by letting you know that I am in no way involved with this film and I don't know anyone who was. I just saw it at the Garden State Film Festival, where it won the top prize, as I believe it has at every other festival where it appeared. As someone else mentioned, the audience was cheering and applauding throughout the movie. How often does that happen when you go to a movie down at the Cineplex? The filmmakers did a beautiful job of capturing the excitement of the adventure while still maintaining the humanity and innocence of the two boys, played perfectly by Jesse James and Reilly McClendon. Yes, there's a hint of sappiness here and there, especially at the ending, but WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT? And while there may be a few elements too rough for the youngest viewers, this is still a great film for the whole family. I only wish that Hollywood would wake up to the fact that people really enjoy this type of movie. Until they do, I guess we'll just have to settle for "Snakes on A Plane 2."
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lulu251017 April 2008I saw this movie at the Riverside Film Festival and was shocked to find out it has not been released nationwide because it was not picked up by the big studios for distribution. They (the Hollywood types) are so out of touch as far as knowing what the average movie-goer is looking for - they made a big mistake passing on this movie. It's a wonderful film and had a little of everything (with the exception of graphic violence and sex!)- action, suspense, romance, intrigue, etc. I found myself laughing, crying, cheering, clapping, and enjoying the roller-coaster ride of emotions to the very end. It's definitely a must-see for every age group.
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em8907200213 September 2008This is an adventure movie of two school boys who battle bullies and gangsters over the course of a couple of days. The film has some decent action scenes: the bike chase scene, landing the plane on a highway scene and the parachuting scene. And, any movie where Stephen Baldwin gets whacked can't be all that bad.
I gave this movie a mediocre rating because it seems to straddle the line between a film made for older teens and one directed for young children. In doing so the film comes off as somewhat boring and juvenile for the older set and something reckless and inappropriate for the younger set. The film is somewhat reminiscent of Disney's 'Apple Dumpling Gang' or 'Escape From Witch Mountain' but also has a few action scenes like a James Bond flick.
As to why this may be inappropriate for children. The film makers appear to be sensitive to language but not violence in the movie. For example, in one scene there is a struggle on an airplane where the proverbial bad guy uses the phrase 'dumb' plane instead of 'damn' plane; yet, here the latter phrase would seem more realistic --- after all he's a bad guy so he wouldn't likely curtail his language. In contrast, a fight scene in the school yard where one of the boys unrealistically punches-out three bullies is made to seem as if violence is cool.
There is also a sense of recklessness that is portrayed as 'fun times' that would probably send up a bunch of red-flags for parents of young children. For example, there is the scene where the boys dart in and out of traffic on their bikes while being chased down by some bullies in a car while numerous accidents ensure along the way. The two boys willing get into a car and drive away with two strangers who turn out to be gangsters; don't parents warn children about not doing this all the time? And, the boys are found gleefully rolling around on the floor with another strange man who turns out to be a mob boss. This seems to be portrayed as okay because he's an affable mob boss. Enough said. -
krisbrown101114 April 2008What an absolutely wonderful entertaining movie. Thisis a great movie for the whole family and very wonderful characters in it. What is wrong with the Hollywood people whom were not interested in this movie. I guess they are after all the digitally mastered movies that capture the awe of people. You can't get much better than this movie with all stunts and no digital generation. I rather enjoy all live stunts and no animation. The characters in this were down to earth and you could just absorb the boys as if they were your own.I saw it at the Atlanta Film Festival and hope that it gets a nationwide release eventually. What a great director. My hat's off to you.
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penmuni30 January 2009The Flyboys is a 2008 American adventure film starring Jesse James, Reiley McClendon, Stephen Baldwin, and Tom Sizemore. It is directed by Mr. Rocco DeVilliers who directed all but one other movie in his career. The movie has surprisingly similar title with the 'Flyboys', which is a 2006 American drama film set during World War I, starring James Franco. Besides the quintessential 'THE' the two movies are worlds apart. One is a patriotic, top class dogfight movie from First World War and the other one supposedly a kids movie.
There are many disturbing elements in the movie. The beginning school fights with Kyle and the school bully legitimizes kid violence. It sends the message that its OK to punch out all the school bullies by breaking their noses.
The most disturbing thing about the movie is the character of Tom Sizemore. He is apparently a criminal gangster who amassed a huge amount of wealth and live in a gaudy mansion. The first scene we see him, he picks up the phone and tells his goons to find the guy who stole his money and kill them. The movie leaves no Grey area to misjudge him. And yet, at the end, he turns out to be the good guy who gives a brand new plane to the protagonist. When his brother is shot and they go back to find his dead body, we see that he is averting the police. And yet, we are asked to believe that he is a good guy with a heart of gold.
When Stephen Baldwin is making his final phone call, bloody and lying in the ground, it has got to be the worst acting among Baldwin brothers we have ever seen. Besides, how does a bloody killing fit a kids movie? We also see Lenny the looser randomly killing a household man and the airport mechanic. Aren't these killing scenes belong only in R rated movie? The movie became an embarrassment for the studio. It was shelved for six years before it saw the light of the day. When it came out, it was a critical and commercial flop. It got 40% rotten at rottentomatoes.com. It neither qualifies for a good adult movie, nor a wholesome kids movie. -
elle00730 March 2008This movie was one of the best films I have seen in a long time! My kids loved it! It was nice to see a film that actually has a message as well as an adventure!
There are a lot of plot empty movies out there! More like crappy ones with not point! This is not one of them! It has something for everyone in it.
I saw this in the Sedona Film Festival and plan on going to it this week in the Phoenix Film Festival!
I am taking my kids and some of our friends and family! I can't wait to cry, laugh, and enjoy the ride this movie takes you on again! I recommend everyone go see it. -
vanourneyjoe25 February 2008I saw this film at the Omaha Film Festival where it just won the jury prize for best film and the audience choice award for best film. This film is amazing--a real surprise! This is one of those films that I would have watched 100 times over the summer when I was a kid. Everything about it worked--the performances of the two lead kids, career-making performances from both Stephen Baldwin and Tom Sizemore, great aerial photography and stunt work, an amazing score, etc. There are scenes with both a bully and another with the bully's brother that are awesome. I very rarely get this enthusiastic about a film anymore, but just can't say enough good things about it. Great job, Rocco! I wish you great success and can't wait to see your next film!
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dialking200419 March 2008The funniest line in the movie was the seriousness of these two mafia guys who approach the boys pretending to be government agents and they say, "Im agent Clinton, and I'm agent Bush". LOL My opinion of this movie was that its as good as most movies that play in theatres, and even better than some. I do not believe that releasing it to just video would reflect the quality and effort that went into making it. An original story line, not just about murder, rape, or war, WHAT A CONCEPT! Maybe when the old farts that are currently picking movies being released today go the way of Fidel Castro, today's real artists will surface more.
I was surprised at how intently I was following the storyline even though the plot seemed simple (at first). There were a couple of twists with the plot that made the characters more interesting, but Im just going on about it cause I have to type 10 lines in order to submit my funniest line from the movie comment. -
could have been a truly fantastic film, but the edit is all over the place... there are about four ways i can think of off the top of my head that would achieve everything the film maker wants and make the movie stronger then it is now... time jumps don't make the movie more cleaver. and introducing characters half way through the film doesn't constitute a twist, but these are elements of story telling that this director didn't learn how to do well in editing this film.
it's a shame the director can't see past himself to understand what this movie could be and not what he thinks it already is... but that's the difference between a professional and an amateur. -
amyasbury31 April 2008This movie is powerful on many levels...the character development, the plot, the acting, the special effects, the scenery, the music...it is uplifting and "on the edge of your seat" exciting....you are not just watching this movie..you are involved in it because you are carried away by the story...you are so affected by the plot and the compassion that you feel for the characters...I was especially touched by the development of the friendship between the two boys and the influence of the grandfather and the uncle in this story....and the truth revealed that good things can come from life experiences that, at the time, seem too challenging for words! ...wholesome, funny, thrilling, and touching....you can cry and you can laugh with the audience...finally, a movie for the entire family to watch and enjoy together!!
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pj-hack4 November 2010So much of the dialogue is not clear. The background noise of music and vehicles is always racked up but the dialogue is muffled. The story, casting, photography is really very good and it stands as an excellent family film but I struggled to hear the conversations between the actors. It was so disappointing. It would really be helpful for the audience for them to have the story moved forward but the production people, who know the script and probably can't be bothered, really need to arrange for subtitles to be added. I really would buy it like a shot then. Why have they decided that subtitles are not required?? Do they really think that extra volume on music and vehicle noise is going to be sufficient? I'm baffled by their attitude.
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Saw this movie screened at the Garden State Film Festival in Asbury Park, NJ on 3/4/08. The release title is "The Flyboys". This film was the premiere showing at the event.
I loved it. Great storyline and acting, excellent blend of emotion and action. The entire audience was fully engaged from start to finish.
Producer/Director Rocco DeVilliers answered questions from the audience after the screening... two details remained with me... the film was done with a $2M budget, and it has been shopped to the majors with all taking a pass. Big thumbs UP to the first detail, and a big thumbs DOWN to the second. As someone said earlier, somebody should lose their gig for not picking up on this gem!
This is a movie I will buy on DVD for repeated viewing, though I will DEFINITELY have to see it again on the large screen. -
gspg9122 June 2009I just stumbled across this little gem on an on-line movie web-site and all I can say is WOW! It's been a while since I've seen a film done this well and how refreshing considering the garbage that they consider films nowadays. The acting outstanding, especially the boys, cast wonderful, plot awesome...it has everything and to top that, the heroes are kids. A great adventure for the whole family...adults and kids alike... it's got everything you'd want in a great story, lots of riveting action, drama, a little comedy and lessons to be learned about true friendship, loyalty and courage. The movie was REAL.. I found myself rooting for the two young heroes immediately and readily drawn into their adventure and wondering all the time what was going to happen next as in any good story and at the credits, I wanted to stand up and cheer...great work guys...this one is a WINNER!
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leslie-2845 April 2008Great movie to be enjoyed by all the family (just watch out for some cursing and a little blood)! There were plot twists and edge of your seat moments that were not predictable! It was funny and suspenseful and had other good qualities that we look for in a movie. My kids were intrigued all the way through, and so was I. We really thought that Reiley McClendon did an excellent job! Also, Tom Sizemore and Stephen Baldwin added a great duo. However, a better describing title was the original title "Fly Boys". Another movie we liked by this producer was Princess of Thieves (starring Kiera Knightley), which you may want to watch also. I hope you like this movie. We did!
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Darkprincessjade12 April 2008I saw this movie today and WOW! This film is one of those rare good films that you don't see anymore now this day and age. First off it's amazing how a film with such a low budget, came out AMAZING!!!! I laughed, I cried, and fell in love with the characters! This movie is not only GREAT for adults but kids as well! It can reach all ages. This film is truly original, no computer graphics, and it doesn't need any either! I am so encouraging you to see this movie! I don't even like plane movies and I can't stop raving about it! Rocco has directed a truly fantastic film worth seeing! Also fantastic acting! I will definitely be getting this movie on DVD!
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adi_colegu16 September 2008I can't believe how much this kind of movie impressed me. They don't make this kind of movies these days...right from the start till the very end it's all full-throttle action...and the thing that gets you is this : you don't expect much of it when you see the title and info, thinking "yeaahhh...another dumbass kids movie"...and though it has a few aspects that defy a realistic movie, but man, it becomes more and more engaging by the minute and keeps you focused with its breathtaking scenes and intensity...I mean, damn...this is a well-built movie people, good acting, good plot, strong moral values...and it's all done by simple means and lines, not like the majority of the movies you see now with great actors, boring scenarios and pathetic lines. I saw almost all the movies in the top 250 and much more, and I'm telling you, this one definitely belongs to the top. If you want the best true friendship based adventure movie of the moment, forget about the "Indy and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" category, which by the way is a disgrace to its kind, and give this one a go....satisfaction guaranteed ;)
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smguess4 April 2008This film tugs on every heart string imaginable. I loved each charter in the movie for having such heart. There were 2 moments in the film. which I will not spoil, that had tears streaming down my cheeks. The other great part of this film is the action is amazing. It is a throwback to the wonderful blockbusters in the eighties where a single seat wasn't empty in the theater. This is a special film. Made by a special director and cast. I love this film. It is a failure by Hollywood not to release this film. These are the films needed. Stop recycling old ideas. Realize Sky Kids / Flyboys is a special film. I have no other connection to this film other than being blessed to have seen at the Garden State Film Festival. If you get a chance to see this movie, don't pass it up.
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vica9312 May 2008This movie is by far the most original kids adventure film I have ever seen, and you don't have to be a kid to enjoy it! It's fresh and entertaining. Boys did an amazing job performing in this film. The plot contains elements we have all seen before: bullies, Italian mafia, single waitress mom trying to raise a boy; but it all comes together in a unique plot for an amazing adventure, during which our young heroes bond and grow together. I really admire the risks that the script writers took on, trusting these young boys to land an airplane and having them win the heart of a mafia boss. Nowdays, we are so busy overprotecting children, placing warning signs on anything and everything, we forget how capable kids really are. These brave protagonists leave no room for skepticism. I applaud the movie, the actors, and the makers.
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pphughes10 February 2006This film is a Great movie with real good plot that is continuous and keeps you involved. Its a good family film that you can take you kids too and adults will enjoy as well. There isn't much in the film that would justify a PG-13 rating and it appeals to adolescents, teenager's, and little kids will enjoy it as well. This will be a hit when it gets released soon as it is a feel good film. I saw this film preleased a couple of years ago on a Mexico cruise in the ships main theater. THere aren't a lot of good films these days like there were 20-30 years ago. Rocco did a good job thinking out his plot and story line and is a undiscovered talent that good make it big if he can get his films noticed.