Powerful Drama with Top-Notch Performance of Denzel Washington

Rating: 8/10 (24 February 2013)

The captain William "Whip" Whitaker (Denzel Washington) of South Jet Air is a divorced man with an estranged ex-wife and son and is having an affair with the flight attendant Katerina "Trina" Marquez (Nadine Velazquez). Whip spends the night in Orlando with Trina drinking, using cocaine and having sex.
On the next morning, he assumes the Flight 227 to Atlanta and he faces turbulence at the takeoff. Out of the blue, the plane has a mechanical problem and the skilled Whip crashes the plane in an empty field and saves the lives of ninety-six persons on board; however, four passengers and two crew members, one of them Trina, died.
Whip learns that there will be an investigation by his friend Charlie Anderson (Bruce Greenwood) from the union and the defense lawyer Hugh Lang (Don Cheadle) tells him that he may have a life sentence since his blood test indicates that he was intoxicated with alcohol and drugs. Charlie and Hugh also tell him to be sober along the next days. But Whip is an alcoholic and can not control addiction.
"Flight" is a powerful drama about alcoholism with top-notch performance of Denzel Washington. There are great movies about this theme, like "The Lost Weekend", "Days of Wine and Roses", "The Verdict" and "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Flight" can be included in this selection. "Flight' has also a great message of ethics and redemption, with a positive conclusion. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "O Voo" ("The Flight")