***Curiously unabsorbing account of the Red Baron*** The exceptional career of the ace-of-aces, Manfred Von Richthofen, is chronicled up to his death at 25 years-of-age on April 21, 1918. “The Red Baron" (2008) comes in the tradition of similar WW1 fighter pilot flicks “The Blue Max” (1966), “Aces High" (1976) and “Flyboys” (2006). “The Blue Max” is an extraordinary melancholic epic while the realistic “Aces High” is good, but one-dimensionally mundane. The blockbuster-ish “Flyboys” is entertaining, but marred by comic book storytelling (think “Legends of the Fall”). Does “The Red Baron” match or surpass any of these movies? Unfortunately, no. Everything is here for a quality film of this sort, but something about the storytelling makes for a curiously unabsorbing viewing experience, whether the fault is the script, the directing or something else (no doubt a combination). The first act lacks dramatic hooks and the necessary exposition to grab the viewer; and the movie never recovers. This is augmented by the typical non-historical additions, like the nonsense of Von Richthofen (Matthias Schweighöfer) and Capt. Roy Brown (Joseph Fiennes) having cozy little chats throughout the course of the war. A lesser criticism is that a few of the cast members are noticeably too old for the parts. For instance, Lt. Werner Voss was only 20 when he was shot down while actor Til Schweig…

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