This was an American WWII propaganda film first and foremost. Because of that, acting, writing and shmaltz are paramount and realism is, at best, an after-thought. And I CAN respect the excellent acting by this fine ensemble cast. But, what I CAN'T respect is the utter silliness of the film.
The film begins on December 6, 1941--just a day before Pearl Harbor. The crew of a B-17 unknowingly approaches what will soon become a theater of war. As hostilities break out, they are forced to fly from one location to another trying to save their hides and strike back against the Japanese. The problem is, the B-17 appears to be nearly indestructible--as it manages to shoot down Zero after Zero with hardly a scratch. It reminded me of an arcade version of air combat (like Nintendo's 1942). If our bombers HAD been that effective, the war would have only lasted a few weeks! I guess, though, that the movie would have been a lot less interesting and detrimental to morale if they'd been shot down in their first encounter--which probably would have happened in real-life.
The film begins on December 6, 1941--just a day before Pearl Harbor. The crew of a B-17 unknowingly approaches what will soon become a theater of war. As hostilities break out, they are forced to fly from one location to another trying to save their hides and strike back against the Japanese. The problem is, the B-17 appears to be nearly indestructible--as it manages to shoot down Zero after Zero with hardly a scratch. It reminded me of an arcade version of air combat (like Nintendo's 1942). If our bombers HAD been that effective, the war would have only lasted a few weeks! I guess, though, that the movie would have been a lot less interesting and detrimental to morale if they'd been shot down in their first encounter--which probably would have happened in real-life.