Skip to main content

Flight

Starring: Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, John Goodman, and Bruce Greenwood
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Screenplay by: John Gatins

      For those of you who have any fear of flying, even the tiniest fear, you will never want to fly on an airplane again after seeing this film.
      Captain Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington) saves a commercial airplane from a truly horrific crash, in which only a few people are killed.  Almost everyone survives, including himself.  The stunt he pulls to save the plane is nothing short of a miracle, but an investigation into the crash reveals something that could send Whitaker to prison.  Not only is he going to be responsible for the people who were killed in the crash (which will send him to prison on manslaughter charges), but he was also found to be drinking the night before and the morning of the flight.
      The actual plane crash takes place only twenty minutes or so into the film, and that sequence is absolutely one of the most intense sequences of film I have seen all year.  You will literally be on the edge of your seat watching this part of the film.  The film isn't about the crash itself, but the proceedings that involve the pilot after the crash happens.
      I like this story because the main character plays the role of being a hero, but isn't really a hero.  He's a hero for saving all of those people's lives but a criminal for being intoxicated at the time of the event.  This idea of a two faced hero is somewhat refreshing because it is not common in film these days.
      Denzel Washington delivers a fantastic performance (as he usually does with all of his films).  It is always a worth while experience watching him in a movie, but especially in this film.  I see a potential Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role because of his performance.
      The director of this film, Robert Zemeckis, brings us another fine movie.  While he's made some films like the Back to the Future trilogy and Forrest Gump, that some may consider classics, sadly Flight may not be a part of that group.
      Overall, this is a film worth seeing.  But I should warn you that it is intense at some parts and may create a fear of flying for many people.  Fortunately, I have not been afraid of flying for a very long time, and I am still not, even after seeing this film.
      Flight has arrived in theaters with a grade of A-.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Magnificent Seven

Starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Haley Bennett, and Peter Sarsgaard Directed by: Antoine Fuqua Written by: Richard Wenk and Nic Pizzolatto      Remakes are funny things.  They can go either way.  On one hand, they can be like last year's Mad Max: Fury Road, a film that critics and audiences adore; a film that will live on as a cinematic masterpiece.  Remakes can also go in the direction of this year's rendition of Ben-Hur , one that critics and audiences will likely forget.       The Magnificent Seven some might say is an unnecessary remake.  It's a remake of an original that's based on another film, Akira Kurosawa's 1954 classic,  Seven Samurai, in which seven samurai soldiers are hired by a town to keep them safe from raiding bandits.  This time, there are no raiding bandits, and there are not seven sword-wielding soldi...

The Hunger Games

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth Directed by: Gary Ross Screenplay by: Gary Ross and Suzanne Collins Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins      If reality television hasn't gone too far yet, then this show should definitely make it go too far.      In a futuristic nation called Panem, one boy and one girl are selected from each of the nation's twelve districts to represent them in an annual television event called the Hunger Games.  Of the 24 contestants, only one will survive in this televised fight to the death.      I like the concept of the story.  While this futuristic society seems somewhat simple, it does not seem all that well developed.  It is unknown how this society came into being, even though it is known how the Hunger Games began.      If this film were released last year, I would have hoped it would be nominated for best make-up.  Many of the characters ...