It's not about a plane crash

Rating: 6/10 (6 February 2014)

Okay, so my preconceived notions of what this film was about turned out to be totally incorrect. The movie does include a plane crash, but the central story is Captain Whip Whitaker's struggle with alcohol addiction. Overall it was good thought-provoking entertainment, thematically dark but interesting, and I always love watching Denzel Washington work. I disagree with some comments that it was too long; proper character development takes time.
My main complaints are that the film stretches credibility in several areas. The idea that an alcoholic could be a successful airline pilot is scary, although I suppose not impossible. The idea that any pilot could successfully crash-land an aircraft following a mechanical failure of the type depicted in the film is just nonsense, with or without the inversion manoeuvre. The NTSB investigation being pressured by lawyers? I doubt it. The NTSB making statements on causes at a public hearing? Nope. But perhaps the biggest credibility gap is that Whitaker decides to come clean part-way through the hearing ... it's a dramatic device, but too predictable. I would like to know the alternative endings which the team considered when planning the film, because I suspect I would have chosen a different one. Part of the reason I chose to watch the film was Robert Zemeckis, director, but this is not one of his best.