CINEMA LOUNGE:Flight
Note: I missed the first five minutes of the movie due to a guy holding everybody up in line by ordering two large buckets of popcorn...for himself. Yeah, nicely done, asshole. Anyway, after reading the plot summary these five minutes would probably not have changed my opinion about this movie, but they might for you.
Ah, Thanksgiving weekend! A great time to visit family, eat copious amounts of turkey until you pass out, and, of course, go to the movies. (Unless there's Netflix, or Hulu Plus, or TiVo, or on demand, or anything else really). Probably should have thought of that before trying to go with my dad to see Lincoln, which was sold out in five different theaters! (Although, seriously, they could make a movie about Daniel Day Lewis sitting around watching TV and it would be awesome.) Same with Skyfall...and Life of Pi...and Red Dawn...and nearly every other movie in the Empire State that I wanted to see, it seemed. And so it was that I ended up going into the untamed wilderness far from civilization known as Connecticut to see Flight.
Having no idea of what the plot was actually about, I formed a vague idea based on just the image of Denzel Washington like in the poster above (who, at least in many of his films that I've seen, including a favorite of mine, the remake of The Taking of Pelham 123, is great with action thrillers) that it would probably be a thriller about a heroic pilot saving everybody from a plane crash a la Sullenberger. So did practically everybody who was standing in line.
To try and not give too much of the plot away (I have a spoiler tag to cover my ass anyway), basically it's about commercial pilot "Whip" Whitaker (Washington), who is addicted to alcohol and cocaine but manages to save a flight full of people while on drugs because...reasons. (As you can imagine, not too many real pilots are happy about that idea.) So for the first twenty minutes my suspicion about the movie was confirmed, as the opening sequence kept me, who gets nervous on flights (not phobic though), especially during the actual takeoff and landing, on the edge of my seat (no pun intended).
And then, as you can probably guess, once Flight gets on the ground (pun intended that time), the pressure of the NTSB investigation starts to get him and then he lies and pushes people away while struggling with his addiction, just like in...oh, every OTHER movie about addiction that I've ever seen. Don't get me wrong- Flight is a well made movie, despite shamelessly bait and switching adrenaline junkies expecting Denzel's usual fare. Denzel gives a stellar, dare I say career high performance that grounds the drama and we come to sympathize with his character even as he does some unsympathetic stuff, combating the potential samey feel of this character type being trotted out again, only with a pilot's costume on. The supporting characters are generally well acted as well, including an especially funny performance that has to be seen to believed, and draws all eyes in the theater.
And despite its melodrama, sentimentalism, and predictability the story is generally OK, although there were definitely plenty of slow points when I got bored, and probably would have fallen asleep during if it weren't for the free soda refills. The problem, I feel, is that this movie could have been so much more, and I honestly can't call it entertaining.
Leaving aside the suspension of disbelief needed for the otherwise stellar opening sequence, ironically, by focusing on the main addiction storyline, other things that could have been interesting are left by the wayside. These include a fellow addict who is well developed as an effective foil and love interest and then abandoned for the final third of the movie, flight attendants who die (but aren't fleshed out so we don't really get invested in their deaths), a friend who takes Whip in and tries to control his drinking, and of course, questions about whether his skill in landing the plane came from the drugs or from him overcoming them, among other things. But by all means, movie, we definitely could use more agonizingly long front shots of a weary Denzel Washington in his underwear set to moody music.
In summary, I feel like, although it was again OK and Denzel carries the movie, less focus on the addiction story would have allowed for an exploration of the side characters and subplots, lead to a broader understanding of how people react to such a traumatic event, and kept and built on the momentum gained by the riveting opening action. As it is, see it once for Denzel if you really are a fan of his, but don't be expecting a thriller or a standout movie.
Flight:
*****
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