The eye-opening and historical film “Red Tails,” exceeded its expectations this weekend despite odds placed against it, as it came in second place in theaters.

In its opening weekend, the film racked up a box office gross of $21.4 million.

George Lucas, producer of the famous “Star Wars” saga, has been working on his vision for this film since 1988.

“Red Tails” focuses on true accounts of the first African-American military pilot crew, the Tuskegee Airmen.

“Red Tails” hit the scene with a couple of very unique movie premieres. First, the film was screened at the White House and presented to President Barack Obama.

The second premiere took place in Los Angeles at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza Theater, where actual members of the 1940 Tuskegee Airmen were honored. Original pilots of the group filled the front row of the theater, excited to see their story come to life on the big screen.

“Red Tails” had a long, rocky and challenging road trying to make it to the big screen. In Lucas’ appearance on “The Daily Show,” he mentioned that Hollywood studios refused to help finance a war movie with an all-black cast.

As a result, Lucas decided to put up his own money for the entire film. He enlisted the help of director Anthony Hemingway to take charge of the film.

Hemingway has worked on several TV shows, including “The Wire,” “Treme” and “True Blood,” but “Red Tails” served as his first big screen film.

Lucas also voiced his concerns while on “The Daily Show,” that if this film did poorly in theaters, it may make it even more challenging for future black directors to be taken seriously in Hollywood.
The Tuskegee Airmen were an elite group of pilots during the 1940s.

According to the U.S. Air Force, the name “Tuskegee Airmen” is a title that represents all of the members involved in the military program that specifically trained African-Americans to fly and maintain their planes.

Although these men went through diligent training, the U.S. military still kept them separated from white officers.

It wasn’t until World War II that the Tuskegee Airmen were finally given the opportunity to fly alongside the rest of the pilots, in an attempt to defend their country.

Hemingway did an amazing job tying together all the parts of Lucas’ vision in this film.

“Red Tails” provides its viewers with a sense of history, great action scenes and some heartfelt scenes as well.

The acting by veterans Terrence Howard (“The Princess and the Frog,” “Hustle and Flow” and “Iron Man”) and Cuba Gooding Jr. (“Radio,” “Pearl Harbor” and Men of Honor”) was exceptional.
The film did a beautiful job building up the storyline and taking the time to give each cast member their own individual personality.

After getting to know the members of the Tuskegee Airmen, viewers can’t help but feel connected to them. It’s difficult not to feel an emotional connection to the characters in this film.

There was an emotional current running through the theater; it coincided with the emotions taking place on the big screen. When the crew was happy, the audience was joyous.  When the men were battling head to head with the Germans, the viewers slipped to the edge of their seats, anxious to see the outcome.

The movie was entertaining, refreshing, comical and action-friendly, but it gave the viewer a sense of history.

Whether you are an individual who enjoys drama, an action buff or a history fanatic, this film has a little something for everybody.