The concerns of dean-harmse and sascha-17 are my concerns - well said. The 21st century anti-war dogma is counter to what I have studied; von Richthofen's own writings and the scholarship of others have shaped my understanding of "the Red Baron" that was not depicted in this film. The physicality of Matthias Schweighöfer belied the "presence" of Manfred von Richthofen; the substitution of the relationship between von Richthofen and Boelcke with the love interest (eegadz) was a myopic decision; the omission of the final battle was a dramatic blunder. This could have been a great bildungsroman (dare I say, künstlerroman) had they focused on the development of von Richthofen as both a combat pilot and a propaganda instrument (and I use "propaganda instrument" in the non-pejorative sense). I suppose that even when you are making a 15,000,000 dollar movie, mistakes are made. Mark Twain, when discussing the art of story telling, humbly posits, "I don't claim to know to tell a good story; I only claim to know HOW a good story OUGHT to be told" (Twain, "How to Tell a Story"). This was the wrong story to tell and could not be told well. I hope someone will tell The Red Baron story as it ought to be told - I hope that person is an existentialist and does not pervert von Richthofen with the presentism that is so prevalent in this film version.

At least the Albatros D.iii looked the part.

I had the opportunity to see this film yesterday during a pre-screening in hamburg. Technically not yet perfect (in terms of grading, sound design and some effects) we saw the final cut. And I am truly pleasantly surprised. The film being a German production, the lead roles Germans, mixed with an international cast, made me extremely skeptical because - apart from the perfume - I haven't seen a truly convincing German project for a "big film" yet. BUT, this film was really well done. Good performances by all actors throughout, an amazing production design, and - best of all - really astonishing and eye catching visual effects and cgi. The effects were very subtle all over and never really recognizable. That makes good VFX!

The film itself is not a flat action/history flick, it has a message to tell and that comes across really well. The relationship between the baron and his girl is told in a very subtle way, no cheesy romance-scenes. It all happens during WW1, there was simply no time for big emotions. So we don't see a "Pearl Harbour" Hollywood flick, but a picture that shows how it really might have been - flying a plane during war. There are no clichés, just a portrait of a hero that did not even want to be one. And the cruelty and absurdity of war itself, as even the main protagonist has to learn. The ending is also well done and not cheesy or over the top. Apart from that the film did not really grab me, I enjoyed watching but was seldomly thrilled or emotionally moved. Maybe some of the characters were simply a little too flat. Also the film jumps at times and leaves out some interesting battle scenes, I had the impression they did it to keep the VFX work down.. Overall I give it a 6.5/10.

Recap: A young boy, Manfred von Richthofen, interested in aviation grows up to be a young man and joins the newly formed Air Forces in Imperial Germany. Taking rather light on war he quickly rises to be one of the top pilots in the entire war. Soon given command over his own squadron he regards himself and fellow pilots and friends as sportsmen more than soldiers. But after being shot down and hurt once, and losing many of his friends, the weight of war starts to wear heavy on him. But he refuses to give up his position as commander for a more safe spot, as military command wants to protect their icon.

Comments: A fictional account of Richthofen's life that still incorporates many of the important events in his life. Some of them though seem clearly overstated and some almost ignored. And some purely fictional events have inserted for effect.

Even if Richthofen died young it is many years that has to be told in just two hours. So the telling is very much separated in episodes, with time skipped between them. I understand and agree that his is best as it would have been impossible to tell the story in two hours otherwise. However, I don't agree when and what they have cut out. Some very significant parts, i.e. when he is shot down (both times), are not shown at all, only the time with him recuperating. Other parts and fights are shown in splendid detail.

The effects are good and some dogfights impressively done. The main focus is not upon Richthofen's flying, but instead on his camaraderie with his fellow pilots (and foes) and a potential love story with a nurse. The flying seem almost unimportant. Nothing much wrong with that I suppose, especially because it is a film about a war hero made in a country where such can be controversial to say the least. But I guess that many viewers, and in part I count myself among them, as a little disappointed. After all Richthofen was the Red Baron, possibly the most legendary fighter pilot of all time.

Still it was a very interesting movie, especially to check the names of his friends and fellow pilots, many of them real pilots as well, and very sadly many of them killed at a young age too. Even though the movie is mostly well played and has some real epic scenes from battles, perhaps the best scene is right at the end, after the plot has ended and real pictures and stories of the characters are revealed. It is easy to get caught and search for more information on the internet.

In all it was a good historical drama, but it would have been even better with another priority which scenes to cut and which to show. It might have done the character well to show more of his fights, and faults, to give him more depth. Now it seemed a little too shallow, a little too easily dodging the hard issues.

5/10