The previews were intriguing, the reviews pretty good, I like Denzel
Washington, plus I had 3 1/2 hours to kill in Morgan Hill. What does that add up
to? A trip to the cinema to see "Flight". About veteran commercial airline
pilot Whip Whitaker (Really? That was the best name they could come up with?) whose
Orlando to Atlanta flight develops mechanical problems that forces the 102
person airliner into a seemingly unstoppable nose dive. That is until Captain
Whitaker decides to try the unthinkable.....invert the airliner with the hopes
of leveling it out. I won't tell you what happens after that, except that
Captain Whitaker obviously survives, as well as most of the passengers. This
makes Whip an instant hero....until the results of the routine blood tests,
required of each crew member involved in an incident like this, are released.
You guessed it: Whip's blood test results come up positive for alcohol and
drugs.
And this is when the heart of the movie really begins.
During the next 90 minutes or so, we learn all about Whip's serious
drinking problem, and his denial of having one. We watch him continually reject
any help offered to him, from his ultra-Christian co-pilot to Nicole, a young
female companion he meets during his hospital stay and who's battling a drug
problem of her own. We also discover how his drinking ended his marriage and has
strained his relationship with his teenage son. To make matters even worse, Whip
is facing an impending hearing that could result in manslaughter charges filed
against him, due to his condition during the flight. Helping him on that front
are old buddy Charlie Anderson (Bruce Greenwood) and lawyer Hugh Lang (Don
Cheadle). Despite having his best interest at heart, Whip continually fights
them as well.
Well, for a long time, with Whip fighting everyone, it looks like the
inevitable is going to happen. Of course I'm not going to spoil it and
actually tell you what really does happen, but I will say that the final 30 minutes were
exceptionally good, and the movie concluded in a very fulfilling way. At least
for me. That is, except for one scene which I still don't quite understand. How did the
security officer standing guard in front of Whip's hotel room the entire
night prior to his court hearing not hear the rucus that had to have gone on in
the room during the night? That's all I'll say, but if you've seen the movie,
you'll now what I mean!
In a nutshell, I really enjoyed the story, and the acting was for the most
part top notch, particularly Denzel Washington who should probably receive a
Best Actor nod next January. I say for the most part because I thought John
Goodman's character as Whip's hippy throwback drug supplier was a bit over the
top and cartoonish. The rest of the supporting cast was very good though. I'm a
big Don Cheadle fan, so I particularly enjoyed his work as the airliner's
attorney.
Oh, and one final meaningless observation about "Flight": it earned it's "R" rating
faster than any other movie I can think of off the top of my head.....literally
within seconds after the movie started. Anyhow, just thought that was
interesting....
Using my rating system (1= skip it, 2= rent it, 3= worth a matinee, 4=
worth full price), I'd definitely give "Flight" a "4". I thoroughly enjoyed it. Definitely more than I was expecting.
