BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Brandin Lindsey The Dawn Patrol is a 1930 war film focusing on the aviation aspects of the Great War. The story follows Dick Courtney, an ace pilot fighting for the Royal Flying Corps. As the plot progresses, Courtney's unit is faced with endless suicide missions and heavy casualty rates.The movie is a true-to-form war story. Without focusing too much on the overall arc of the war and the larger picture, the story focuses instead on a select few soldiers and their own personal struggles. The conflict is well-written and the casting is decent. There are also many great action shots, such as aerial views of bombs being dropped and the resulting explosions.Unfortunately, the movie is faced with many moments of bad acting. Examples of over-acting, over-the-top performances, bad deliveries, and overly phony death scenes abound in this film. The attempts at comedy are corny and should have been left out. Melodrama constantly bursts into the picture, with otherwise serious characters flying into "say it ain't so!" moments and "don't tell me he's g-g-g-gone!" scenes. At one point, a soldier nonchalantly dives into an opera in an otherwise songless picture.Overall, you could skip this film. This movie might be pleasing to those who enjoy war movies or perhaps specifically those who like World War I movies. Otherwise, you're not missing much if you decide to miss this one.

TheLittleSongbird Having a fondness for a lot of Howard Hawks' films, there was an interest in seeing one of his earliest efforts (his ninth film in fact and his first talkie). 'The Dawn Patrol' is not one of Hawks' best and there is a preference for the 1938 film with Errol Flynn, despite there being the argument of it being pointless it did feel more polished, more natural and every bit as emotional.1930's 'The Dawn Patrol' does suffer a little from limitations caused in the transition from silent to talkie. The sound quality is primitive and very static, a music score would have helped hugely with providing even more impact and most likely masking this issue. The script can come over as creaky and artificial, and the pacing also has its creaky moments and lacks tautness.On the other hand, Hawks directs adroitly, and the photography and scenery have a grittiness and luminous quality at all. The flying sequences still come over as remarkably powerful and rousing today, and most of the script is thoughtful and gripping, heavy-handedness wasn't too big an issue here.'The Dawn Patrol' has a compelling story, perfectly conveying the futility and passion of war, the comrades' horrors and conflicts and showing grace even under pressure.Characters are not stereotypes in any way, instead compellingly real characters with human and relatable conflicts. The acting is remarkably good for such an early talkie, of course there is some theatricality which to me wasn't that grave a problem. Can find nothing to fault Richard Barthelmess, Douglas Fairbanks Jnr or Neil Hamilton, who all perform with authority and poignancy.Overall, a good film if not the greatest air epic. 7/10 Bethany Cox

GManfred That's normally the answer to all orders given to the fliers in the day room of "Flight Commander". It signifies neither assent or disagreement, just obedience to official orders. You have to watch the face or listen to the tone to decide whether the recipient is enthused, annoyed or resigned. Such is life on the western front of an RAF outpost during WW1 - and where life is a fragile commodity.Also known as "The Dawn Patrol", it was remade in 1938. That's the one I knew from Million Dollar Movie on Ch. 9 in NYC, and it would play for a whole week. I loved it and watched it as often as I could. I thought no one could beat Errol Flynn and David Niven in the two lead roles, until I saw the original, "Flight Commander" which starred Richard Barthelmess, Neil Hamilton and Douglas Fairbanks,Jr. (Basil Rathbone played the Neil Hamilton role as Commander of the doomed fliers in the '38 version). The acting was far superior in the earlier version, but the later one had better production values. It seems some of the same great aerial footage was used in both films.If I had to pick one, I like this (1930) version better as it was emotionally more satisfying; it had more 'heart'. And Richard Barthelmess was an excellent actor who for some reason couldn't last in talking pictures. I also thought this may have been Fairbanks' best acting job. Well, that's my take on the two films, and that's the best part of going to the movies - it's often subjective, and there's no accounting for taste.

MartinHafer It's obvious that this film didn't have the budget of some of its more famous contemporaries (HELL'S ANGELS and WINGS), as there were less aerial stunts and more of an emphasis on story. However, this wasn't really a bad thing, as the story itself did have more depth than the other two films--focusing on the pressure on WWI pilots and the fragility of their lives. In many ways, it reminded me of WWII films, COMMAND DECISION and 12 O'CLOCK HIGH because they, too, talk about the burden of leadership and responsibility of sending men to their deaths. So it's obvious that this is NOT your typical "war is fun" type film you so often see! As far as the film goes, it was quite dandy but unfortunately, the 1938 version really wasn't all that different. About the only noticeable difference was that more actors actually spoke with British accents in the remake. Because they are so very similar, I recommend you only see one unless you are a real purist. And, if I needed to say which one, I'd say the later version is slightly better--mostly because it is a bit more polished. The 1930 version lacks background music (something shared by most films in 1930), though otherwise they are neck and neck as far as which one is best. Interestingly, the 1930 version also features James Finlayson (of Laurel and Hardy movie fame) in a supporting role.