Denzel Washingtons Best Performance Yet(**** Out Of ****)

Rating: 10/10 (20 November 2012)

After 12 years of making animated films Director Robert Zemeckis returns with Denzel Washington to make one of the best films of the year filled with humor drama and entertainment.
The film starts off with captain Whip Whitaker played by Denzel Washington as he is preparing to fly a plane from Georgia to Florida. But disaster arises when the plane malfunctions begins spiraling out of control. Whip lands the plane but it crashes in the process. He is put into the hospital due to his injuries.
Meanwhile a woman named Nicole played by Kelly Riley is a broken down drug addict who is barely getting by. One day she missuses a drug that she buys from one of her friends and is hospitalized in the same hospital as Whip.
The next day Whips friend and drug dealer Harling Mays played by John Goodman comes by to pay him a visit. Whip then meets Nicole and he promises her that he stop by for a visit as soon as they are both out of the hospital.
When Whip is out of the hospital he meets with his lawyer named Hugh Lang played by Don Chedale who tells Whip that Whips alcoholism and Drug use in his system may have caused the plane to crash but deems it impossible because out of all the pilots Whip is the only one who knew how to land the plane. Out of 102 souls on the plane only 6 died.
Whip and Nicole begin a relationship but it quickly strains due to Whips alcoholism. He is scheduled to trail in ten days.
Warning: The next paragraph contains spoilers. Please skip to the next one if you have not seen the film.
After going nine days without a drink Whip goes on an all night bender and has Harling come over to straighten him out with rugs. The trial starts off well but goes downhill when Whip says that he did drink that day on the plane. He is sentenced to 5 years in prison but is over 1 year sober and has a better relationship with his son and Nicole.
This is one of my top 5 favorite films of the year. I loved Denzel Washingtons performance. I truly believed that he was portraying an alcoholic and drug addict. John Goodman is great as the comic relief, Don Cheadle is fantastic as the lawyer and Kelly Riley gives on of the best performances of the year.
The film also has a great story and not once does the film ever become boring. Robert Zemeckis has struck gold with this film and I hope that this along with my favorite film of 2012 End Of Watch get nominated for best film of the year.
Rated R For Drug And Alcohol Abuse, Language, Sexuality/Nudity And An Intense Sequence.
2hrs 19min/139min.
57 uses of the F-word.
****/****