I think that all things being equal we aviation buffs (or is that nuts) are probably the worst audience for war films. I know that I regularly fast forward through the soppy bits in Battle of Britain, even though these bits were in the film to give a perspective on what all the flying around was about.
It is the same with most war films that feature aircraft as we are sitting their with our aviation expert critic’s hats on and looking for the slightest evidence that a particular aircraft has a smidge of paint that is not in the right place.
But equally films that capture the real human involvement of war are quite rare, and much of that is rather unexciting but nevertheless tragedy. How often do we see depicted the effects of a bomb or stray bullet on otherwise uninvolved civilians, when the alternative is a depiction of a dramatic clash between deadly machines.
I can understand the fact that critics tend not to go overboard about most war films as the genre is less about the acting art and more about special effects. And these days we are several generations away from the events and the wartime myths of stiff upper lips etc.
I know that my favourite films and literature of the fictional or semi-fictional form are not war related, although my favourite non-fictional historical works contain some serious works on war themes not just aviation. But in the analysis I find more of artistic merit in books and films that explore the simple themes of human existence of which war, thankfully, for most of us is a fairly minor part.
Also we must admit that pound for pound there are a great many war films which are sheer dross made to formulaic standards and I can understand the critic’s reluctance to go overboard. But they might have the odd nice shot of an aircraft in them 😀
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