Good acting, preachy and weak on plot, poor on character development

Rating: 3/10 (12 November 2012)

As expected from the trailers, the flight scenes are thrilling - not believable, but thrilling; but overall the film felt like a commercial for Alcoholics Anonymous. (The familiar formula: "you have to admit you've hit bottom and then AA can save you.") All the acting is competent but none of it particularly impressive; but maybe that's the fault of the script. Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, and John Goodman can always be counted on to give what the script demands, but this one didn't demand much, or even allow for much. Once you know that it's a movie about alcoholism and drug addiction, the major plot developments become predictable as movie devices, but at the same time contrived and unrealistic. Many plot elements were not credible: the open association of Washington's character with an obvious and outrageous drug dealer; his co-workers' tolerance of his obvious abuse for years before the film opens; his stability and effective behavior while full of alcohol plus cocaine; the takeoff into a severe storm; Nicole's incredibly quick and painless withdrawal from heroin, etc. Worse, while Washington's, Cheadle's, and Bruce Greenwood's acting was fine in individual scenes, their characters badly lacked continuity; their behavior at any one moment was often inconsistent with their characters as developed up to that point, especially toward the end. The hotel room door left unlatched; the open window; each step of Washington's interaction with the mini-bar - all were unbelievably contrived; and the final drug transaction apparently was deemed necessary for the setup of the final scene, but was totally inconsistent with Cheadle's and Bruce Greenwood's characters up to that scene; I could almost see the actors thinking "does the script really call for me to do this?" Oh, and Washington's behavior while full of alcohol plus cocaine seemed designed to convey one message: alcohol bad, heroin bad, cocaine - well, maybe pretty good. It gets you hot babes and is a quick, sure remedy for drunkenness. Despite a good cast and some excitement, I can't really recommend this film to any audience.