The Red Baron

SYNOPSIS

Top Gun meets Brideshead Revisited in this lavish but wayward biopic of First World War flying ace Manfred von Richthofen. Matthias Schweighöfer plays the man dubbed the Red Baron, with Joseph Fiennes as his nemesis, Canadian pilot Roy Brown. Their encounters touch on issues of honour and aristocratic escapade, but writer/director Nikolai Muellerschoen loses interest in the concept that these dashing young airmen are "sportsmen not butchers" as soon as Von Richthofen falls for nurse Käte Otersdorf (Lena Headey). The scenes on the ground are rooted in platitudinous melodrama, while confusing combat choreography and an overreliance on CGI prevent the dogfight sequences from soaring. And while the film's stance is laudably antiheroic, the decision to create one fictitious character to represent all the Jews who fought for Kaiser Wilhelm is simply patronising.