Denzel Washington Elevates Flight To Greater Heights

Rating: 10/10 (5 June 2014)

Flight is stars Denzel Washington.It is a story about Whip Whitaker, an airline pilot who miraculously crash lands his plane after it suffers an in-flight mechanical failure and manages to save most of the people on board.The cast also includes Don Cheadle,Kelly Reilly,John Goodman,Bruce Greenwood,Melissa Leo and Nadine Velasquez.The Academy Award nominated screenplay written by John Gatins was loosely based on the actual events of the 2000 crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 that left no survivors behind. Robert Zemeckis directed the film.
Whip Whitaker is a seasoned airline pilot.While flying a plane from Florida to Georgia,the engines fails and got into a mid-air catastrophe.Realizing that they won't make it to the runaway,he decided to roll the plane upright and make a controlled landing in an open field at Clayton County.He loses consciousness and was taken to the hospital. When he awakens in an Atlanta hospital with moderate injuries,he is greeted by his old friend Charlie Anderson,who represents the airline's pilots union.After that meeting,the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) official informs him he manages to save ninety-six out of one hundred two people on board and they are conducting an investigation behind the accident.Aside from the NTSB investigation,we also get to see Whip coming into grips with reality particularly with his addiction to drugs and alcohol.
Too bad that many men would probably enjoy the first few minutes of the film due to Nadine Velasquez's nude scenes and find it the only reason to see the film.Others who disliked the film due to the fact that it only told the story of Whip coming into accepting the fact that he needs help with his alcohol and drug addiction.But there is more to reasons why one should see it.First,it was a thoughtful and provocative study of a dark character in Whip Whitaker.Aside from his addictions,we also get to see him develop redeeming qualities in the end such as humility and he becomes a better person particularly as a father who started to develop a better relationship towards his estranged son.Secondly,we get to see a movie that portrays the effects of addiction very well and how it damages one's character and the relationships with others.Finally,it consists of great performances from the cast especially Denzel Washington,whose Academy Award nominated performance is well-deserved as he portrayed Whitaker very well that viewers will definitely empathize with him and with the crosses that the character is bearing.He truly elevated this film into greater heights especially when he was caught in a moral dilemma while at the NTSB hearing. Overall,this is one good character-driven film about addiction that one should see.