Red Tails - B-

Rated PG-13, 121 minutes

"Red Tails" is the new action drama about Tuskegee Airmen, the first group of African-American military combat airman in World War II. Produced and self-financed by George Lucas, the fictional story inspired by true events is an entertaining, somewhat earnest throwback to the old school war movies that harbor some of those films flaws. Featuring Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard and a large group of mostly unknowns (rappers Ne-Yo and Method Man are the most familiar faces) playing the airmen, here's the bad news first: the story is formulaic, the dialogue laughably corny ("Die you foolish Americans!" is one example) and the characters one-dimensional. The good news: unsurprisingly, the thrilling, well-executed aerial battle scenes are the most memorable part of the movie and serve as the real reason to see "Red Tails" (the tails of the airmen's planes were painted red, thus the name) and honor these real-life heroes. "The Tuskegee Airmen," a 1995 HBO film also featuring Gooding is superior, but "Red Tails" is still a decent effort.