Review of Flight (2012) by Midlands M — 19 Oct 2013

Robert Zemeckis' first live action film since Cast Away (!) sees the director return with an in-depth character study of Pilot "Whip" Whitaker (played by an always brilliant Denzel Washington) who after saving a plane from an almost certain crash landing has to come face to face with his demons after failing an alcohol test whilst recovering in hospital.

With the most literal soundtrack I have ever witnessed in a mainstream film (Sweet Jane & Under the Bridge for drug-taking scenes - oh please), this heavy-handedness undermines what is otherwise a solid exploration of what it means to be a hero, a father and a down-dirty-drunk.

Possibly covering too much ground, another flaw is that the film never matches the explosive first 30 minutes (containing the crash and immediate aftermath) and drops into melodrama then (almost) comedy as John Goodman arrives from a different film altogether.

Aside from the electrifying accident, there's nothing spectacular as an ensemble cast of sturdy actors (Don Cheadle, Bruce Greenwood & Brian Geraghty) do their best with a TV-level script followed by some stereotypical addiction sequences but the film ultimately glides through on auto-pilot until it finally ends with a by-the-book landing.

6.5/10 Midlands Movies Mike.