A vörös báró

Unfortunately, a great idea turned into a very mediocre film. It tries too hard in terms of its international overlap; if it were purely German, it would be much better. There is no satisfactory soundtrack, the English dubbing is poor, and the cast is promising but unused (especially Til Schweiger and Joseph Fiennes). Matthias Schweighöfer and Volker Bruch had yet to become good actors. (2021.01.05)

A more or less ordinary and inoffensive spectacle that doesn't bring much new and is shot exactly as you would expect from a biopic about Richthofen (whether you know anything about the Baron or not). That is, if you also expect it to be a terribly drawn out film with few aerial scenes, of which only one is really good (the bombers over Ypres), with strange "plot lapses" (about three times I felt that the film was missing an important scene and only its aftermath remained) and with a trite conclusion. There was no tension, no surprise, no energy. But so I don’t just complain, besides the aforementioned fight sequence, I still liked the relaxed episode in no-man's land, as well as a few scenes of the central couple. If The Red Baron was cut down by half an hour or so and given some momentum, it could have been better. Two and a half. (2015.01.25)

I don’t consider The Red Baron a good film, mainly because the story features an unnecessary romantic plot and resorts to clichés in an attempt to teach a moral lesson. I didn’t like that the story of the most successful WWI fighter pilot took place mostly on land. I thought CGI would make it possible to show off a lot more of the aerial warfare over the dumbest meat grinder in human history, but the potential was shamefully wasted. I much prefer the nearly 50-year-old Aces High (1976) in this regard. On the other hand, the Germans delighted me by not limiting themselves to the most well-known fighter planes like Fokker Dr.I and Sopwith Camel. This is what often happens with WWII films, where the only German tank seems to be the Tiger. The film felt weirdly flat and two-dimensional, which was very disappointing. The filmmakers didn’t mention the fact that Richthofen's death was most likely caused by machine gun fire from ground positions; it probably would have spoiled the overall romantic view of his life and death. But I was even more disappointed that they didn’t show Wolfram von Richthofen after 1918 and completely ignored his career as a general (and later field marshal) of the Luftwaffe and commander of the VIII Air Corps, with which he participated in the bombing of Warsaw and the defeat and occupation of France and Greece. I guess that didn't fit the desired image either. / Lesson learned: Don't be afraid to run away while there's still time. (2022.09.26)