Red Tails

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Red Tails

PG-13,

2012,

2h 5m,

History/

Drama/

War

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Watchlist

41%

134 Reviews

Tomatometer

57%

25,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

41%

Tomatometer

134 Reviews

57%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

During World War II, the Civil Aeronautics Authority selects 13 black cadets to become part of an experimental program at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. The program aims at training colored personnel to become fighter pilots for the Army. However, discrimination, lack of institutional support and the racist belief that these men lacked the intelligence and aptitude for the job dog their every step. Despite this, the Tuskegee Airmen, as they become known, more than prove their worth.

Critics Consensus

Despite a worthy fact-based story and obvious good intentions, Red Tails suffers from one-dimensional characters, corny dialogue, and heaps of clichés.

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Ina Diane Archer

Film Comment Magazine

Nov 5, 2013

One longs for more scenes between the ensemble on the ground, but the emphasis on aerial (and digital) technology leaves the characters without context.

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Tara Brady

Irish Times

Jun 11, 2012

3/5

This is a proper war film. That's to say one with crazy dogfights and (no, really) Nazis with prominent scars.

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Phelim O'Neill

Guardian

Jun 7, 2012

3/5

The true story of the Tuskegee Airmen, a squadron of African-American second world war flying aces, is one of those amazing tales that you just couldn't make up.

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Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

Jul 28, 2025

3/5

"Red Tails" succeeds in telling a worthwhile true story of history with a flair for action that can only come from a guy who knows his way around the Force.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Feb 23, 2023

2.5/4

Reduces a story of triumph over racial prejudice to a standard gung-ho war movie.

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Jack Fleischer

Battleship Pretension

Mar 24, 2021

In the end, this movie is exciting to watch, but it's otherwise exceedingly bland. Red Tails simply doesn't do justice to its source material.

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Rey S

Dec 8, 2018

The movie is just America propaganda to make it seem that we were all powerful like the Seen with the Me262 German jets they had 30mm cannons those mustangs would have bin a ball of fire after a Burst of rounds itï¿ 1/2(TM)s idiotic and mustangs canï¿ 1/2(TM)t out run or catch up with those jets so basically Hollywood fiction.

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Oct 21, 2018

A great subject, poorly executed. Felt more like a TV movie.

Kylo R

Apr 4, 2018

This film is not into realism. It doesn't even look like racism was real. I would have given less stars but the flying looked good, and the planes looked like they were flying.

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Draco S

Feb 16, 2018

Excellent movie, good plot and story, great special effects, I think this film is heavily under rated.

Finn S

Oct 1, 2017

Most of the characters are one-dimensional, the script is just pretty good, there are more than a few cliches, and there's a lot of wasted potential, but Red Tails has more than enough action, one-liners, and emotion to entertain most.

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George P

Sep 25, 2017

amazing ass movie black people are awesome

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Anthony Hemingway

Director

Cuba Gooding Jr.

Major Emanuelle Stance

Terrence Howard

Col. A.J. Bullard

Nate Parker

Marty "Easy" Julian

David Oyelowo

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Synopsis

During World War II, the Civil Aeronautics Authority selects 13 black cadets to become part of an experimental program at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. The program aims at training colored personnel to become fighter pilots for the Army. However, discrimination, lack of institutional support and the racist belief that these men lacked the intelligence and aptitude for the job dog their every step. Despite this, the Tuskegee Airmen, as they become known, more than prove their worth.

Director: Anthony Hemingway
Producer: Rick McCallum, Charles Floyd Johnson
Screenwriter: John Ridley, Aaron McGruder
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Lucasfilm Ltd.
Rating: PG-13 (Some Seq. of War Violence)
Genre: History, Drama, War
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 20, 2012, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $49.9M
Runtime: 2h 5m

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