Where we learn that success in life sometimes requires a near-death experience.

Rating: 6/10 (15 September 2014)

This story is, essentially, a one-man show, about a crack commercial pilot who is also an alcoholic and cocaine addict, maybe even a crack-head. In taking on the role of Whip, Denzel Washington delivers a cracking good performance about a character that you eventually almost love to hate. But, not quite....
In a nut shell, the plot begins with Whip's hangover as he prepares for his next flight. To cope, he snorts some coke before he leaves the hotel, and after manhandling his passenger plane on takeoff like a P51 Mustang, he hands the controls over to the young copilot while he covertly mixes a double screw-driver in the galley and as his crew is calming passengers after the turbulent takeoff.
Then: disaster. Something breaks in the rear elevator mechanism, the plane goes into a dive, Whip whips back to his seat, grabs the controls which he uses manually (overrides the computer systems) to perform a miraculous maneuver to prevent the plane from drilling for oil - and instead glides it to a belly-flop in a lush green field where the plane breaks up and everything goes black for our hero....
That sequence is the best part of the movie - the first twenty minutes: great CGI, excellent editing, fast paced, exciting, even thrilling and entertaining BS. And, it's worth seeing. Arguably, the rest ain't.
You recall Denzel in Training Day? Sure, he was a bad guy, but he was so cool, soooo likable, right? Well, Whip's a totally untrustworthy, no-good, dirty, rotten, drunk liar. In his personal flight from reality, he knows it, he denies it to all and sundry, and you can see he's heading for his own hell. Unless something happens to change his ways. Well, your mission, should you want to proceed, it to watch the movie and find what that something is.
And, if you do, then think about this also: why on earth was this story ever made into movie? I'll tell you what I think. Instead of some production company making a documentary about all the real-life stories we hear/read about pilots with certain problems who still fly daily, let's put it all to fiction to avoid any possible law suits from a dozen real airlines. But ... but we still get the message across, see: hey, you pilots, listen up - toe the line or, no matter how good you are as a pilot, you are expendable, you are a criminal, and you are going down even if you do save every sorry passenger's life!
Hey, now ... it's not often we see an important, pertinent, societal message masquerading as passably good entertainment.
There's a good supporting cast with familiar faces. The direction and editing are top-notch. The music's too loud. There's a lot of cussing, and a lot of alcohol and coke, both of which will turn off some viewers. Still, I give it six out of ten and a qualified recommendation, mainly because I like Denzel's (and John Goodman's) acting and his courage for taking on such a lousy, stinking role. Ugh!
September 15, 2014