Banana Boat is here

Rating: 7/10 (4 November 2012)

Greetings again from the darkness. What is a hero? There have certainly been no shortage of super hero movies these past few years, but those are mostly comic book characters brought to life through the magic of Hollywood. Can a heroic act turn a flawed man into a hero? Should his flaws change how we treat him after the heroic act? All these are questions raised by the script from John Gatins. The easiest question of all? If you are a movie producer and you need a flawed hero ... the obvious choice is Denzel Washington.
Director Robert Zemekis returns to live action after more than a decade of experimenting with animation. Of course, Zemekis is firmly entrenched in Hollywood lore thanks to his Back to the Future trilogy, as well as Forrest Gump (for which he won an Oscar). This is quite dark material for Zemekis and he handles it quite well. The trailer tells us what we need to know about the premise. Denzel plays a pilot who, under extreme circumstances, "inverts" the commercial jet he is flying so it can be landed in an open field. Yes, invert means to fly the plane upside down. If you are queasy about flying, this is one to avoid. And don't count on this being the in-flight movie on your next business trip.
The first 30 minutes of this movie are as strong as any seen on screen this year. We quickly get a sense of Captain Whip Whitaker and then we see his remarkable actions during an incredibly well filmed crash sequence. Unfortunately, I found the second half of the film plays like a heavy-handed advertisement for AA (not American Airlines). Whitaker is exposed for his absurdly high blood alcohol level and existence of cocaine ... so clearly presented in the film's opening. Over the years, many films have tackled addiction: Leaving Las Vegas, Clean and Sober, When a Man Loves a Woman. Rarely have we seen the expert talent of deception and lying that Capt Whitaker displays.
There is little doubt that Denzel's performance will warrant Oscar consideration ... and it should. The film depends on an actor skilled enough to reach the depths necessary for us to believe this guy, despite his cocky pilot strut and unmatched flying skills, is little more than a mentally weak addict.
There are a couple of outstanding supporting performances here: John Goodman as Harling Mays, a colorful and energetic, free-wheeling dealer who works miracles with Whitaker when he appears to gone to function; and Kelly Reilly (Mary Watson from the Sherlock Holmes movies) as fellow addict Nicole, who connects with Whip and tries to help him. We also get solid work from Don Cheedle, Brian Geraghty, Tamara Tunie, Peter Geraty and Melissa Leo. There is also an odd scene featuring James Badge Dale as a cancer patient/philosopher.
The Alan Silvestri score is effective, as is the soundtrack featuring the somewhat obvious songs from Joe Cocker, The Rolling Stones and Cowboy Junkies. The issues with the script are minor and it is recommended in spite of the Bruce Greenwood factor. Every frequent movie goer has their acting nemesis and Greenwood's presence usually indicates a disappointing movie for me ... not the case here.