Flight

Starring: Denzel Washington, Kelly Reilly, Bruce Greenwood, John Goodman, Don Cheadle, Nadine Velazquez, Melissa Leo, Brian Geraghty, James Badge Dale
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
2012

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An airline pilot (Denzel Washington) heroically saves the passengers of his plane when it experiences a malfunction and crashes. However, questions are raised about whether he was drinking on the morning of the flight.

Review:
Tim: I've always really liked Denzel Washington, and I love that he was changing things up a bit with this performance. Playing a pilot isn't a massive departure, but it's nice to see him not as a cop, detective, or member of the military. This is a very good film built around a fantastic performance by Washington. While I don't think director Robert Zemeckis crafted a truly great movie, this is still a very worthwhile, entertaining film.

I want to talk for a moment about the crash scene- this is one of the most amazing scenes I've ever watched. Zemeckis is brilliant here. I was laughing out loud and had a few tears in my eyes, just because of how cool the sequence was. Seeing a commercial airliner flying upside down was just insane. I've flown a lot in my life, and I can't imagine how frightening and crazy that experience would be. I thought Zemeckis shot it beautifully, and it represented my favorite moment of the film.

I love the basic idea of the story- a pilot pulls off a true-life miracle, crash landing a plane and saving most of the passengers. He becomes a hero. And yet, there's a much darker side, as he is an alcoholic and drug abuser, and was drunk the morning of the crash. I love this set up. It really made me think about Washington's character- is he a hero, or a scumbag? It was so thought-provoking to think about this. He works a miracle, saving the lives of almost 100 people, and yet, he also betrayed their trust by his substance abuse. I really wish the film explored these topics more. I wanted to spend more time on this, how he was able to land the plane the way he did while being under the influence. That was fascinating, yet not fully explored.

The vast majority of the film isn't about the plane or the consequences Washington's character might face- the majority of the film is about Washington's substance abuse problem. I know these scenes were critically important, but I felt like too much of the 138 minute run time was spent here. This often happens with movies about alcoholics. After a certain point, we get it- the guy is a raging alcoholic, deeply wrapped in his own denials. He ruins relationships, acts in ways that vastly hurt his own self-interest, and runs the route of self-destruction you'd expect to see. Those scenes are important, but I'm not sure we needed to spend all that time with them.

I will say that Denzel Washington is pretty fantastic in this film. He's clearly one of the best actors in Hollywood. While he's been better in other films, he gives such an emotional, strong performance here. I really believed him in this role, and best of all, he was memorable- I will never forget this performance. I'm really glad that he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. I agree with the Academy that he didn't deserve to win, but I'm really glad he received this nomination.

The supporting cast is good, too. Kelly Reilly is not someone I was very familiar with, but she gave a strong performance and held her own next to Washington. I always like seeing Bruce Greenwood, and he gave a good supporting performance here. I felt like John Goodman was too over-the-top in his role, but I do admit it was a lot of fun seeing him here. Don Cheadle is an exceptional actor, and while I don't think he gave a great performance here, he worked well enough. He and Washington had a few fun exchanges. I do have to specifically call out James Badge Dale- he has a very, very small role, but it was absolutely hilarious. He steals the scene, and I just loved what he added to the film. The cast as a whole was quite effective.

I really, really liked Flight. It was a different, unique story that really caused me to think differently. It was a challenging, exceptional story. I feel like the film focused too much on Washington's alcoholism, and I do have to admit that the end of the movie felt a bit too Hollywood for me. Still, this film features a terrific performance by Denzel Washington, and is a very well made film. Welcome back to live action, Robert Zemeckis!

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Deja Vu, Courage Under Fire