Flyboys, a movie based on true events of the Lafayette Escadrille, follows the adventures of a group of young men, mostly Americans, who volunteered for the French military before the U.S. entered World War I and became the country's first fighter pilots. With little known about this historical group and the current war situation, producer Dean Devlin (Independence Day) believed it was the right time for this film to be made. "It's been 40 years since Blue Max," the last movie about WWI dogfights was made in Hollywood," he said.

Air flight is relativity new in 1916, and when some planes are made into war planes, the invitation to fly strikes a chord with a diverse group of young men who head to France to become flying aces and fight against the Jagdstaffeln, the German Air Force.

Blaine Rawlings (James Franco) has not had an easy life on his Texas ranch. With both parents now gone, the ranch goes into foreclosure and Blaine gets into trouble. Seeing the Lafayette Escadrille as his escape, he joins up right away.

Once there, Blaine falls under the command of Capt. Georges Thenault (Jean Reno), a conventional leader who makes sure the men are well trained before they enter battle action. Fellow flyers include Reed Cassidy (Martin Henderson), a flyer who doesn't mix well with the guys but is quite effective in the air; Briggs Lowry (Tyler Labine), a snobbish rich kid who came to France under pressure from his tyrannical father to make something of himself; Eugene Skinner (Abdul Salis), a black American and up and coming young boxer who's been living in Paris to escape American racism and is tired of the punches; hot shot William Jensen (Philip Winchester) and Eddie Beagle (David Ellison), a somewhat timid guy who is not sure why he volunteered.

As the boys learn to fly, their personalities unfold. They quickly learn this is not a game. The planes offer little protection, and the pilots know most of them will die. Co-star David Ellison said most of the original flyers lived less than 72 hours in the first years of service.

Blaine is a cocky flyer who stands out and goes toe to toe with Reed Cassidy and his mascot Whiskey, a lion. During his flight training, Blaine meets Lucienne (Jennifer Decker), a young French girl left to raise her brother's children, and a romance develops.

Franco (Tristan & Isolde), quite charismatic and often compared to James Dean, was so into making this film he actually learned to fly. "I went up with Tony Bill (director) in a Steerman PT-17 trainer airplane. We did loops, and it was a blast. I said I might as well learn how to do it myself so four months before we started filming I went everyday and got my license."

Ellison was already a great flyer. "This was my passion most of my life," he said. "I started flying at 13, did my solo flight on my 16th birthday, started flying nationals and at 20 got invited to fly the Oshkosh Air Show." 

Tony Bill insisted Ellison be in the movie. "I wanted my actors to be comfortable in what they do in the movie so we had them all learn to fly," said Bill. "There's a passion that develops with flying, and we needed the actors to get that bug."

The cast here is second bill to the story. The film resonates on several levels. It has a nostalgic feel about a time when honor was inherent and young men freely gave up their lives to protect their country. It's very relevant to today's Middle East situation.

"It was a much simpler time but if you compare it period wise to what we have now, it would seem just as complicated to the people living in that era," said Frano. "These guys volunteered before the U.S. went into this war. Then it was about losing the world. The conflict now is very different, but the similarities are the people that put their lives on the line, these pilots and soldiers volunteering to do what they think is right, but once they're there it's about standing by the person that's next to you and protecting them."

The filmmakers bravely chose to make the film independently which meant a low budget, but the movie still delivers in the action department. They shot 22 real airplanes for three and a half months, then augmented the footage with 850 CG shots to create the major battles. The flying battles are realistic, intense and engaging.

Flyboys is a well-made action-filled movie that includes human elements and even a romance. This film about men volunteering to do the right thing and becoming heroes, some with their very lives, couldn't have been released at a better time.

(Released by MGM and rated “PG-13” for war action violence and some sexual content.)

Read Diana Saenger’s reviews of classic films at http://classicfilm.about.com.