Review of Airport 2013 (2014) by Harry W — 07 Sep 2013

A star-studded precursor to the disaster film craze that hit in the 1970s, AIRPORT is much more a soap opera-y drama than a true disaster story, though it certainly sets the template (a dozen-or-so subplots, all featuring A-list talent, against the backdrop of some kind of misadventure).

The movie's very conventional in the way it goes about weaving its storylines together, and none of them are particularly compelling, but the acting is solid (particularly from Van Heflin, Helen Hayes, and George Kennedy), and Alfred Newman's score is a powerhouse, with a swaggering main theme and some lovely, light jazz-inflected quieter moments.

The films sequels take the basic premise into infinitely more outlandish - and, yes, more entertaining - directions.