Just came back from watching this....its a good movie. My wife was so mad at the Japanese Prison Camp commander at the end. It's really more of a tail of enduring hardship and keeping your spirit from being broken. The fact there was an aerial battle scene at all was just for eye candy and didn't do much for the story. I think the movie did a good job covering his story growing up as a minority, dealing with it, his turning to track to "make something better" of himself and finally his toughness to withstand the constant torture at the hands of the Japanese.
Not only did I get to see the movie....I swung by a memorial built for Zamperini in Olean NY just this last weekend. He was born in Olean, NY then the family moved to CA and the advice from their doctor after Louie had a bout with pneumonia. Still Zamperini relatives in town.

