Review of "Flying Tigers," starring John Wayne VHS version

Review of

Flying Tigers, starring John Wayne VHS version

Three out of five stars

 The Flying Tigers, the group of American airmen that had the face and teeth of a tiger shark painted on the noses of their fighter planes, are the most famous combat unit of the Second World War, largely due to the power of their hallmark image. Officially, they were American mercenaries, former members of the U. S military that had resigned their positions, fighting for money in the service of Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek against the Japanese. Unofficially, they were part of a secret program with the approval of President Franklin Roosevelt to bolster Chiang and force the Japanese to expend resources. The purpose of this movie is to continue the mystique of this band of brave and daring men, indirectly fighting for their country.

 However, it fails in this endeavor, largely due to having too much emphasis on the oddball that has been given one last chance and does a great deal to make yet another failure. John Wayne plays Jim Gordon; the commander of the Tigers and Woody Jason is his old friend that begs to be given another chance to fly. Instead of trying to be a cog in a fit fighting machine, Jason remains what he was before, exhibiting all the character traits that led to Gordon first rejecting him as a pilot in his unit. While oddballs make interesting characters in movies, they are disruptive in combat units that need cohesion and a sense of common purpose. There is too much human drama wound within the deadly battles with the Japanese.