Related News
Attempting to pull out of a dive
Source: Agencies |
November 11, 2012, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
IF "Flight" weren't so exceptionally crafted and acted, this tale of self-destruction and eventual redemption might feel like the sort of feel-good fare you'd see on the Lifetime Movie Network, or even a 12-step-program promotion.
Instead, director Robert Zemeckis' first live-action film since 2000's "Cast Away" is by turns thrilling, engrossing and even darkly funny, anchored by a tremendous performance from Denzel Washington. This is one of those Washington roles, like his Oscar-winning work in "Training Day," in which he exudes a potent mix of damage and bravado, control and danger, but he's so incredibly charismatic even as he does bad deeds that you can't help but root for him.
Washington stars as Whip Whitaker, a veteran airline pilot and serious alcoholic. When we first see him, he's waking up wasted and naked in a hotel outside the Orlando airport alongside an equally wasted and naked flight attendant.
A sip of beer, a hit off a joint, a line of coke and he's ready for his 9am flight - swaggering, commanding, even charming. Clearly, he's done this before.
But then a major mechanical failure en route to Atlanta forces him to pull off a daring crash landing in the middle of a field in a breathtakingly spectacular extended action sequence.
Afterward, Whip is rightly hailed as a hero for saving so many lives. But the subsequent federal investigation also reveals his rampant substance abuse, which only fortifies his denial.
It's a murky area that allows a lot of room for us to debate within ourselves: Yes, the plane malfunctioned, but Whip didn't exactly belong in the cockpit in that state. Then again, no sober pilot could have achieved what he did, as if his looseness somehow kept him even-keeled.
Bruce Greenwood, Don Cheadle and John Goodman all give strong supporting performances as the people around Whip who keep him functioning in various ways as the investigation close in around him.
While the uplifting coda needlessly spells out hard-earned lessons that would have been more powerful had they been implied, for the most part, "Flight" manages to achieve the tricky balance of functioning as a serious, adult drama that's also crowd-pleasing.
Instead, director Robert Zemeckis' first live-action film since 2000's "Cast Away" is by turns thrilling, engrossing and even darkly funny, anchored by a tremendous performance from Denzel Washington. This is one of those Washington roles, like his Oscar-winning work in "Training Day," in which he exudes a potent mix of damage and bravado, control and danger, but he's so incredibly charismatic even as he does bad deeds that you can't help but root for him.
Washington stars as Whip Whitaker, a veteran airline pilot and serious alcoholic. When we first see him, he's waking up wasted and naked in a hotel outside the Orlando airport alongside an equally wasted and naked flight attendant.
A sip of beer, a hit off a joint, a line of coke and he's ready for his 9am flight - swaggering, commanding, even charming. Clearly, he's done this before.
But then a major mechanical failure en route to Atlanta forces him to pull off a daring crash landing in the middle of a field in a breathtakingly spectacular extended action sequence.
Afterward, Whip is rightly hailed as a hero for saving so many lives. But the subsequent federal investigation also reveals his rampant substance abuse, which only fortifies his denial.
It's a murky area that allows a lot of room for us to debate within ourselves: Yes, the plane malfunctioned, but Whip didn't exactly belong in the cockpit in that state. Then again, no sober pilot could have achieved what he did, as if his looseness somehow kept him even-keeled.
Bruce Greenwood, Don Cheadle and John Goodman all give strong supporting performances as the people around Whip who keep him functioning in various ways as the investigation close in around him.
While the uplifting coda needlessly spells out hard-earned lessons that would have been more powerful had they been implied, for the most part, "Flight" manages to achieve the tricky balance of functioning as a serious, adult drama that's also crowd-pleasing.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
