A powerful, solid drama.
Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington) is an airline pilot and also an alcoholic drug-user. He is clever, charming and capable, and keeps his drinking under-raps from the rest of the crew. He takes off in the morning with a line of cocaine and helps himself to vodka throughout the flight. On a routine flight from Florida to Atlanta, one of Whip's jet engines suddenly fails and starts to fall from the sky. In a spectacularly realised action sequence, which may be a little too much for nervous fliers, Whip wrestles the aircraft to an emergency landing, saving all but six of those on board. Did Whip’s alcoholically becalmed state help him land the plan? Or was he the cause of the loss of six lives?
The film centres completely around the drug fuelled Washington, perfectly portraying a man in denial, seemingly unaware of his major problem. It’s possibly Washington’s best performance since Training Day; a damaged, defiant soul, strutting down hotel corridors with his aviator shades on, that latest line of coke racing round his blood stream, or shivering as he pours bottles of spirits down the sink.
Another stand-out performance was the minor role played by John Goodman as Whip's drug dealer, who is a likeness of the Dude from The Big Lebowski. His perfectly delivered wit and authoritative manor create an unlikely character that certainly works.
Zemeckis, making his first live-action feature since Castaway (2000), makes a film that is morally provocative and filled with utter genius. He opens the film with a classic morning-after scene, followed up by possibly his greatest action sequence to date, the plane crash. The scene oozes tension worthy of Hitchcock himself.
Very strong film, watch out for John Goodman, not to be missed.
J.Henderson.
7/10.
Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington) is an airline pilot and also an alcoholic drug-user. He is clever, charming and capable, and keeps his drinking under-raps from the rest of the crew. He takes off in the morning with a line of cocaine and helps himself to vodka throughout the flight. On a routine flight from Florida to Atlanta, one of Whip's jet engines suddenly fails and starts to fall from the sky. In a spectacularly realised action sequence, which may be a little too much for nervous fliers, Whip wrestles the aircraft to an emergency landing, saving all but six of those on board. Did Whip’s alcoholically becalmed state help him land the plan? Or was he the cause of the loss of six lives?
The film centres completely around the drug fuelled Washington, perfectly portraying a man in denial, seemingly unaware of his major problem. It’s possibly Washington’s best performance since Training Day; a damaged, defiant soul, strutting down hotel corridors with his aviator shades on, that latest line of coke racing round his blood stream, or shivering as he pours bottles of spirits down the sink.
Another stand-out performance was the minor role played by John Goodman as Whip's drug dealer, who is a likeness of the Dude from The Big Lebowski. His perfectly delivered wit and authoritative manor create an unlikely character that certainly works.
Zemeckis, making his first live-action feature since Castaway (2000), makes a film that is morally provocative and filled with utter genius. He opens the film with a classic morning-after scene, followed up by possibly his greatest action sequence to date, the plane crash. The scene oozes tension worthy of Hitchcock himself.
Very strong film, watch out for John Goodman, not to be missed.
J.Henderson.
7/10.
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