Excellent story line depicting how an addict will rationalize his use. The drama involved was powerful and gripping. It demanded my attention through out as he blatantly defied the system in his attempt to use his recovery of the plane to overshadow his addiction. The ending was not anticipated so that is an automatic plus for the movie. His junky friend helping was a bit of a stretch for my imagination and resulted in the loss of one star. I would consider it well worth the time to view.
The flow of events was wisely planed, starting from few hours prior to taking off, with a pilot intoxicated with drugs, liquor, wasted in a hotel room with a hooker, burdened with his troubled son and scattered family. That setting evolved into the sequence of events that led to the airplane crash, in which the intoxicated pilot reacted with outstanding ingenuity to overcome inevitable dive crashing to the ground by rolling his airplane in order to regain lift. The very intense moments of taking off in very severe weather conditions left me thinking on whether such aggressive handling of the airplane would result in potential damage to the elevator flaps of the airplane. Even though Captain Whitaker managed to rise above the clouds, level the airplane, with apparently charismatic and heroic endeavors, it would remain ultimately unknown whether such rough handling of the airplane would have precipitated the subsequent failure. The very few intense minutes from getting into a downward dive, rolling, and undoing the rolling, to the final crash landing were very educational, dramatic, and charging the imagination of the viewer till the very end of the movie. The captain succeeded very will in announcing every step in his procedure to escape death and save lives, with impeccable coordination of his copilot and fight assistant. The legal drama that followed the crash was also engaging, reasonable, and educational. As the legal team managed to suppress legal evidence of intoxication, and the pilot started patching his life to deal with drug addiction, his broken family, attempting to start another while being treated, forensic evidence made a twist of fate when the pilot had to explain the presence of two bottle of vodka in the cockpit disposal. The world of drugs and prostitution where the pilot relied upon as a support social net to keep mental calm would gradually collapse over his fate, leading him to prison. The one last lie which Captain Whitaker resisted making extricated him from the gloom and loss of intoxication. The end of the movie was also appropriate, with a cleaned up, sober prisoner gaining strength and lively outlook, attending to writing and reading, instead of inhaling, drinking, smoking, and fooling with strangers, responding to a visit from his son, who has resented his father for leading irresponsible lifestyle. The federal hearing and testimony of the pilot was also educational, harsh, and methodical. Well Done.Read full review
Denzel is amazing as in all his roles, and provides the perfect blend of smooth and funny. It also shows how people can be great, but also have their own demons. I highly recommend buying, especially since it is not on any streaming services at the moment for some reason.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
This film opens with full frontal nudity and wanton drug/alcohol abuse. This is not a movie for kids of ANY age IMO..... That said, this is one of the most powerful movies I have ever seen. The performances are stellar, the topics compelling, and the depictions moving. I would recommend this movie and the Blu-ray/DVD/Ultraviolet edition.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
The movie stands on it's own, and I won't rehash what others have already discussed, or might find elsewhere. This movie is just as much about alcoholism than it is about an airline pilot. On the Blu Ray extras, the writer of the original script discusses, how he came up with the idea for the for the movie, while sitting next to a pilot in an airport, and wondering to himself..."pilots probably have problems, just like everyone else". It's truly insightful. Additionally the extras that are included about director Robert Zemeckis clue you in to how they created such a compelling crash scene, and how they inverted the plane for the movie. Zemeckis was also the director for Cast Away, and was told he shouldn't attempt a second movie about a plane crash. I for one...am glad he did. EXCELLENT MOVIE.Read full review
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