First of all let's put things in context so we don't start expecting silly little furry creatures to appear in the middle of the film, George Lucas helped with the story and production, John Ridley wrote the screenplay and Anthony Hemingway directed, so let's (and this includes me) get over the Lucas issues right now, because believe me you won't be thinking about him after the trailer.

Red Tails tells the story of the first African-American fighter pilots entering into World War II, fighting not only the enemy, but the prejudices around them at home and in the ranks. There's a little bit of the expected, but overall the trailer looks really good.

The effects look fantastic, and the dogfights very impressive, at some points it's hard to believe that some of it isn't real. Then there's an impressive cast too - Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., David Oyelowo, Andre Royo, Bryan Cranston, Lee Tergesen, Gerald McRaney, Robert Kazinsky, Tristan Wilds, Ne-Yo, Method Man, and more.

Here's the full blurb for the film, although it's slightly overblown as the "fate of the free world" was in the hands of a lot of pilots from a lot of countries round the world for a very long time. The rather poetic and inspiring blurb goes:

1944. As the war in Europe continues to take its toll on Allied forces, the Pentagon brass has no recourse but to consider unorthodox options -- including the untried and untested African-American pilots of the experimental Tuskegee training program. Just as the young Tuskegee men are on the brink of being shut down and shipped back home, they are given the ultimate chance to show their courage. Against all the odds, with something to prove and everything to lose, these intrepid young airmen take to the skies to fight for their country -- and the fate of the free world.

I wonder though if they've gone a little too far, although the trailer doesn't suggest anything overblown, the blurb really does, and like so many other "based on a true story" war films from America I wonder how much fact and fantasy will make up the film.

Here's the excellent trailer for Red Tails which comes through Yahoo Movies and so you can see in Quicktime high definition:

No, George Lucas hasn't reworked it yet!