Flight

 Reviews from the Dark Side presents
Flight
Released 11/2/12, now in theaters

Denzel Washington returns to theaters in Flight, a film directed and co-produced by Robert Zemeckis.  The ensemble cast features Don Cheadle, John Goodman, Melissa Leo, Kelly Reilly, and Bruce Greenwood.

Airline captain William “Whip” Whitaker (Washington) is a highly respected pilot.  He’s divorced and estranged from his teen-aged son.  He’s also an alcoholic and drug addict.  After a decadent night of sex, alcohol, and very little sleep with one of his crew’s flight attendants, Katerina, in Orlando, Whip prepares for his flight from Orlando to Atlanta the next morning with a few lines of cocaine to wake up. 

The flight and its 102 people on board seem doomed from the start as it takes off in a bad rain storm.  Whip expertly maneuvers the plane out of the storm with nervous co-pilot, Ken.  He then takes his moment to relax.  And for Whip, relaxing means two small bottles of vodka in his morning OJ and a nap.  He is jolted awake by a loud mechanical noise as the plane begins to nosedive only a few miles out from its destination.  Whip is able to crash land the plane in a field by using a rolling maneuver. 

There are 96 survivors of the 102 passengers and crew.  Whip is taken to a hospital to be treated for superficial injuries where he learns from the National Transportation  Security Board that Katerina was one of the casualties.  The NTSB also has their hands on Whip’s toxicology report which proves he was intoxicated while flying.  Enter attorney, Hugh Lang (Cheadle), a Chicago criminal lawyer brought in by the Pilot’s Union to defend Whip’s claim the jet went down due to mechanical failure, not his intoxication.  But the NTSB is hot on Whip’s heels, and it doesn’t help that he just can’t seem to stop drinking or sever his association with his drug dealer buddy, Harling (Goodman).   Whip needs to pull himself together quickly before he goes down for six counts of manslaughter.

Flight offers another notable performance from Denzel Washington, as well as, Don Cheadle.  Zemeckis directs a gripping story of one man’s downward spiral into addiction and the demons that haunt him night and day.  It’s a great story, but, therein lies the problem.  It’s extremely depressing.  Whip ruins/has ruined his share of relationships in this movie because he can’t crawl out of the bottle.  And he tries.  And tries.  And tries.  It’s indicative of addiction, but make no mistake, it’s not a lot of fun to watch this type of downfall.  Although there is a somewhat positive ending , following this man on his journey is jolting and leaves you with a great sense of melancholy.  That said, Washington still manages to pull off a dignity and grace in his character that few actors would be able to manage.

Flight is very good movie that you will only want to sit through once due to the content.  It’s not what I would call entertaining, but it is very compelling and well-made.

The Dark Lord of the Sith says:


 ***1/2 stars



Ratings Legend
Zero *= Don't waste your time. Pure dreck! Dreck is too good for this! Blind me please!
1 *= Fuggedaboutit!
2 *= Average, Mediocre, Nothing Special
3 *= Good viewing. Much better than a poke in the eye.
4 *= Great. Could possibly foot the price of a non-Matinee.
5 *= Pure eye candy. Hall of Fame material here.