Review of Flight (2012) by Nesbitt10 — 03 Feb 2013

Despite an Oscar worthy performance by Denzel Washington, the films too heavy-handed, redundant, and never quite takes full flight. The title of the film is deceiving in that it is more so about the descend (in more ways than one), and the resilience of the human spirit.

For the first half-hour or so, "Flight" keeps us rapt with thrilling action and a troubling moral quandary. You strap yourself in for the next two hours and prepare to give yourself over to the in-flight entertainment.

But after "Flight" descends from its high-wire act, the film reshapes itself into a fairly standard story about substance abuse, and the life-long endeavor of maintaining sobriety. Not incredibly entertaining or consistently compelling, but Denzel's Oscar worthy performance alone makes this worth the watch.

Denzel does a perfect job giving us just enough to empathize for him but never enough of a reason to condone him either. To Robert Zemeckis credit, he directs a well-crafted film, loosely based on actual events.

An interesting character study of a flawed hero we sympathize with throughout despite reoccurring disappointments. This flight reaches it's destination, but I don't think I want to get the round trip.

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