Fly-by Flight

Rating: 6/10 (17 February 2013)

An alcoholic and drug-abusing pilot on a routine flight, pulls of a miraculous stunt and saves his passengers. Dubbed a Hero, Captain Whitaker struggles to contain his addictive behaviour during the course of the investigation. The powers that be try to contain his volatile habit as they work to put the matter to rest but have an uphill battle as the self-serving Whitaker battles his own demons.
Denzel Washington portrays a broken pilot masterfully and is rewarded with a deserving Oscar nod. Meanwhile the supporting cast including Don Cheadle, John Goodman and Bruce Greenwood play their roles well. Denzel's love interest, an equally damaged Kelly Reilly, does her job but her character isn't really developed enough.
A character driven piece, Flight's pace slows down rapidly after an adrenaline driven and breathtaking start. At times, it get's a little too slow and the mind of the audience may begin to wander. Denzel and the supporting cast are stellar but Robert Zemeckis' movie on a whole lacks teeth somewhat. It's an intense drama which is worth a watch, but outside of Washington, there really isn't anything Oscar worthy about Flight.