In this
2012 film, Director Robert Zemeckis shows-off his filmmaking chops in the
film’s first forty-five phenomenal minutes. The plane crash in Flight is spectacular and original. A
fresh new take and a welcome addition to the genre, it’s unlike any other plane
crash I’ve seen before.
Preparing
for its final decent into Atlanta the MD-80 aircraft of Southjet Flight 227
severely malfunctions. The elevator, the hinged wings on the plane’s tail stick
downward, sending the plane into a steep dive. A disastrous crash is almost
certain, but with ace pilot Captain Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington) at the
controls, he and his crew pull off a remarkable feat and save hundreds of lives.
After the
gripping first act, the rest of film the film is propelled forward solely by
Washington who is in fine form, yet despite this, the film mostly drags on. Many
long, unnecessary, and awkward scenes could have easily have been cut, and the
film would have been better for it. Parts of the back-story of Whitaker’s life
work great, while others are just too convenient to be believable.
Flight tries to be more than just a plane crash film. The film delves
deep into the destruction alcoholism can cause, and also attempts to tackle the
question of what it is to be a hero.
While
drudging up some very interesting and heavy material, considering the film’s length
of 2hr 18min, a much clearer statement of intent would have been nice. Since
Captain Whitaker is an alcoholic, there is a ton of backlash against him, but
the dialogue on the subject of whether or not a drunk can be a hero, is far
from concluded.
7.5/10
Errata: Can an MD-80 aircraft fly upside down? These aircraft were
never designed to fly inverted, obviously, but can they? According to Larry
Goodrich, the film’s flight consultant, the answer is no, or at least not for
very long. He says the aircraft’s wings would lose lift, and after that the
plane would come down[1].
