Despite Some Unlikehoods and Ambiguities, FLIGHT Is Far from Being a Disaster (ha-ha)

Rating: 7/10 (6 February 2013)

Washington is at top-form in the role of an anti-hero: alcoholic, cokehead, ladies' man airline pilot Whip Whitaker. The other fine actors--too many to mention here, but Kelly Reilly's performance is especially noteworthy--also contribute a great deal to FLIGHT. The air altercation is harrowingly realistic, one of the many ways this film puts you right there.
On the other hand, FLIGHT tries to compensate for its grittiness (including a gratuitous scene of female nudity at the very beginning) by becoming a sort of 12-step morality play in the middle and latter portions. Alternatively, all the sex, dope, and vulgarity, it seems, are intended to keep the film from being too heavy-handedly moralistic, an odd combination that doesn't entirely work. While FLIGHT is not of an outwardly religious nature, there's much mention of God, which--though as a believer, I like it--hints at some agenda on the part of the film's own creators.
FLIGHT becomes repetitively melodramatic toward the middle portions. More on the FTSB's investigations/legal entanglements and less on the turpitude of Whitaker's life would have made this an altogether more interesting film; a more distant point of view focusing less on Whitaker personally and more on the whole big picture would also have been a probable plus. Some choice editing probably could have cut 20-30 unnecessary minutes. There are also a number of "too easys," e.g., some of the stuff the pilots' union attorney is able to accomplish with a seeming flick of his hand. Finally, several characters don't contribute all that much to the plot--FLIGHT's a bit too crowded. (I just mentioned Reilly's fine performance, but I'm not sure the character she plays is even that necessary.)
Still, for all my criticisms, I can't give FLIGHT anything less than 7 stars. The good aspects of this film (polished acting and cinematography, a number of small but well-earned surprises, its entire generally compelling nature) are good indeed, and those with a little patience should enjoy it.