Let’s just say that Denzel Washington is probably the best actor around at the moment – big call but every movie he’s in that you watch, he’s simply fantastic and that is so the case with this one.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

It’s quite a dark little drama this one about an alcoholic airline pilot Whip Whitaker (Denzel) who saves 96 people in a plane crash. The only problem was that he was drinking before and during the flight. On the other hand, this guy is a pretty good damn pilot and it wasn’t this alcohol abuse that causes the crash, rather than a plane mechanical problem.

After the crash, Whip starts to feel guilty about the death of a flight attendant he was sleeping with and makes the choice to stop drinking. But after a little meeting with an attorney Hugh Lang (Cheadle) and Charlie Anderson (Bruce Greenwood) who inform him that he had a toxicology screen that found alcohol and cocaine in his system, the stress only seems to drive Whitaker back into drinking and his life just spirals out of control.

During this time, he meets another addict and they share a bond that almost keeps Whitaker sane but even that cannot stop him from going down his bad path. It all comes to a head at the end where Whitaker admits his guilt and alcohol problem and is quite rightly punished. I’m not really giving this story justice as it’s more of a character study movie and certainly deserves a watch.

Denzel Washington is just fantastic and his charisma and presence is all there to see and he isn’t letdown by a strong supporting case – thought Jon Goodman was excellent in only a little screen time that he has.

Don’t go into this expecting much in the line of action or suspense other than the opening 30 minutes. It’s more of a depressing story and I found myself quite frustrated (in a good way) with the character as he kept returning to his alcoholic ways because I was really rooting for him to turn himself around and that’s a great achievement to the actors, writer and director…

Yes, the director is none other than Robert Zemeckis who delivered the Back to the Future trilogy, Cast Away and Forrest Gump and he delivers here. But the real star of the show is Washington who again proves why he is one of the finest actors of his generation.

Good stuff.

The acting in this movie is fantastic, I have to agree.  

But to take a movie about an epic plane crash and turn it into a pedestrian story about addiction - just didn't work for me.

There definitely needed to be more action in this movie... and less dialogue as this was a very chatty movie.

...at least for me.  

Overall I like this movie. Yes, Denzel (and the rest of the cast) are fantastic but I have to agree with Cornetto that the basic character arc is pretty pedestrian - not much new under the sun here.

The plane crash itself was done brilliantly though, had me on the edge of my seat.

I like the duality of the title.

Quoted from mcornetto There definitely needed to be more action in this movie... and less dialogue as this was a very chatty movie.

I agree. After watching the trailer again, can see some people being disappointed with this one as it does promise more action.

Personally didn't matter to me - I thought it was a solid movie.

I liked it. I also agree that it was difficult to get on board with the Denzel character. You want him to win the entire film... He just refuses to give up his old ways.

When I saw this trailer with a commercial airliner flying upside down I thought it was ridiculous. The hearing at the end was pretty convincing, though.

I never did any research, but I've always wondered the possibility of that opening scene.

James

Crossed this one off my Oscar checklist recently.
All I've got left is Argo, The Master, Django and Life of Pi.

I would've liked this tale even better if there was more to Denzel's arc.
Tuned out when we spent so much time with the other patients.
Honestly, it almost felt like a play when those folks rambled on and on.
Enjoyed Denzel's portrayal of a weak man afraid to confront his shortcomings.
In the face of fear, he'd rather destroy everything around him.

The other factor that muted my praise for the film is a classic Hollywood blunder...
Making the most interesting part of your movie... the first scene!
That plane crash had ne mesmerized for twenty minutes. Wow!

E.D.

Good film with some solid acting by Washington.

But I had two major problems with it.

First, the relationship with Nicole(?) the heroin addict. Like wtf was up with that? It seems like an afterthought with the writer just stuffing her story in there when he was writing the final draft. It just did not work for me. SPOILERS We get this picture of Whip and her at the end at the prison which just made me cringe so hard, it was so unexpected and literally made me scream WTF.

The second problem was the last few minutes of his son coming to visit him. Really couldn't understand that, doesn't his son hate him for being unpleasant to his mother? And not his drinking problem? Why would he come to see him in the end? Maybe I missed something but that was also another WTF moment.

The crash sequence at the start had me on the edge of my seat. Some good stuff there.

The final interview/interrogation at the end was one of the best scenes in the film. I read the same scene in the script and no way was it as tense as it was in the film. I doubt any actor besides Washington could have nailed that.

Quoted from mcornetto The acting in this movie is fantastic, I have to agree.   But to take a movie about an epic plane crash and turn it into a pedestrian story about addiction - just didn't work for me. There definitely needed to be more action in this movie... and less dialogue as this was a very chatty movie. ...at least for me.

THIS.

Agh!  There was not enough going on to keep me engaged.  Seriously, I loved the acting and wanted to love everything else but nope, lol.

There is nothing about this film and script and each arc I did not like.

NOTHING. Every scene was measured and perfect.

The stairway scene? Brilliant.

One goes up.
One goes down.
One stays where he was.

OUTSTANDING.

The foreshadow was potent and memorable. The marketing department however: rarely do I use this phrase and you may quote me; I HOPE WHOMEVER OKAY'D THAT TRAILER IS FIRED. Why? Because I KNEW before seeing the story WHAT he was going to do that and INFURIRATED ME. IT SENT ME OVER THE EDGE FOR SURE.

First, think about this; it's the entire LYNCHPIN of the film. IT'S THE "DO SO YOU WILL DIE MOMENT!" It's the committing of professional and personal suicide and you PUT IT IN THE EFFFFING TRAILER??????.

So these marketing nut jobs did RUIN the experience for me.

That said, I can see what attracted Denzel to this.

SOMEONE WROTE: didn't get the 'son' at the end.

There was a 'presumed time lapse' evidence by the photos in his cell and thus it's presumed that the son and he had closed whatever gaps they had before.  
LOVED IT.
LOVED IT.
LOVED IT.
bb

Quoted from nybabz The marketing department however: rarely do I use this phrase and you may quote me; I HOPE WHOMEVER OKAY'D THAT TRAILER IS FIRED. Why? Because I KNEW before seeing the story WHAT he was going to do that and INFURIRATED ME. IT SENT ME OVER THE EDGE FOR SURE. First, think about this; it's the entire LYNCHPIN of the film. IT'S THE "DO SO YOU WILL DIE MOMENT!" It's the committing of professional and personal suicide and you PUT IT IN THE EFFFFING TRAILER??????. So these marketing nut jobs did RUIN the experience for me.

You found that surprising, Babz? Most of the time when I see giveaways like that in a film trailer, it suggests to me that the studio doesn't think the audiences are bright enough to understand the film and/or its concept. It also isn't the first time where studio marketing departments give away the spoils. It sadly won't be the last.
It won't stop me from seeing the pic - but if the studio doesn't have that much faith in a film, I better go quick before it disappears.

didn't stop me either, you're right I suppose but more than you know; most of Hollywood thinks their audience, their market, their paychecks, are dopes.

Quoted from nybabz The marketing department however: rarely do I use this phrase and you may quote me; I HOPE WHOMEVER OKAY'D THAT TRAILER IS FIRED. Why? Because I KNEW before seeing the story WHAT he was going to do that and INFURIRATED ME. IT SENT ME OVER THE EDGE FOR SURE. First, think about this; it's the entire LYNCHPIN of the film. IT'S THE "DO SO YOU WILL DIE MOMENT!" It's the committing of professional and personal suicide and you PUT IT IN THE EFFFFING TRAILER??????.

Really? You couldn't see the ending coming even without the trailer? Guy sees the error of his way and does the right thing in the end - could that be anymore clichéd? If they wanted to make this one stand out they should have had him keep on lying in the end. That would have been a much more powerful ending.

Quoted from sniper Really? You couldn't see the ending coming even without the trailer? Guy sees the error of his way and does the right thing in the end - could that be anymore clichéd? If they wanted to make this one stand out they should have had him keep on lying in the end. That would have been a much more powerful ending.

It would've certainly made for a cooler ending. I didn't mind the ending per se, I just think they could've done more to justify his catharsis to the audience.

I'm hardly conservative, but I personally found the coke scene a disappointing inclusion and unnecessarily celebatory. Of course it can be argued that this was simply another notch towards his descent, but the scene itself sat ill with me.

There's this: Really? You couldn't see the ending coming even without the trailer?
According to you it's a 'no brainer'...

It's the difference between a completed script and a market ready work.

THE MOTIVE; THE WHY HE decided to come clean WAS THE THROUGHLINE.

Do you get it?

There is zero power in a lie. NONE. Zip.

Here's the question; do you know why the lead character didn't lie at then end?
Answer; Character trumped his addiction.
And he didn't even know that about himself.

And that is why SO MANY scripts don't get shot; it's the difference between market ready and done.
A gap....wider than the Grand Canyon.

Read the script ONE SHOT.
I KNEW Jack Reacher.
By the time I was done; I KNEW HIM.
DAZZLING.
HUMBLING.
Why I do what I do...
hugs on ya. bb

Quoted from Andrew It would've certainly made for a cooler ending. I didn't mind the ending per se, I just think they could've done more to justify his catharsis to the audience. I'm hardly conservative, but I personally found the coke scene a disappointing inclusion and unnecessarily celebatory. Of course it can be argued that this was simply another notch towards his descent, but the scene itself sat ill with me.

I disagree. The catharsis was justifed: Honesty trumped addiction.
he ran out of his life's span allotment of lie.
Brilliant.
Poetry.
Visually told.
B

Finally saw this the other night.  Boy was I ever both surprised and not surprised at the same time...well...not at the same time, but at different times.

I'll echo what of other peeps said here - Denzell is a force of nature.  What an incredible actor.  Easily one of my all time faves and he delivers here in a very ugly role that is actually hard to watch at times.

My surprise started immediately, as I didn't even realize this was a R rated movie.  In reality, it's a hard R rated movie.  I was watching with a female friend of mine and I said within 15 seconds, "This is the way all movies should begin!".  Wow, what a complete and total babe, Nadine Velasquez is.  Unreal.  My female friend didn't say a word and was obviously uncomfortable watching.

My next moment of surprise came very soon after Nadine was prancing around buttass naked, when they both start smoking a doob and Denzell snorts up a fattie.

The level of drug and alcohol abuse on display here is over the top, IMO.  I mean, downright hard to watch, sad and disturbing.

My next surprise came in the amazingly well done crash scene, as well as the very well done flight scenes leading up to the malfunction.  Again, as others said, edge of my seat stuff going on.  Excellent!

But things quickly die down and we're stuck with a very different movie than what I thought we'd get...or wait...actually, I wasn't surprised, because I feared this would be slow, which is why I waited so long to see it.  Sure, it's a character study with a number of messages, and it's all well done, but for me, too much of the same thing and too much of a number of things that should probably never have made the final cut.

OK, back to some surprises.  I was more than surprised with John Gatins' script than anything else.  Maybe shocked is the the better word.  This thing was filled with more cliches than I can recall seeing recently.  I mean, if you think about it, just about everything and everyone was one giant cliche.  But, to make matters worse (for me) they were all so over the top, it almost felt like Gatins was trying to push as many buttons as he possibly could to shock, sadden, sicken, or anger his audience.

Every character is so troubled and "broken".  Even the "good guys" are far from what I'd call good peeps.  Everything is handled in a very dark way.  For me, it was a struggle to stay with it...but I did.

I didn't appreciate Kelly Reilly's Nicole at all.  I didn't buy a single scene she was in, and she was in a bunch.  I'm not saying she did a poor job, but the inclusion of her character was so unbelievable, it detracted from the power the scenes were supposed to showcase.  And then, just like that, she's gone, and we don't see her again.

So, then Whip starts getting his shit together and it's hard not to believe this will end up with a typical Hollywood ending and everyone lives happily ever after.  Well...wait a minute, now.  Actually, I was pretty sure he would fuck everything up, just based on all the over the top cliches and the like and when the room next to him is conveniently not locked and loaded with a weekend's worth of alcohol, I shook my head and said, "Oh come on now...".

The following scenes with John Goodman didn't work at all for me.  It was handled in such an odd humorous way, that again, it just screamed things aren't going to work out, damnit!

The "trial" scene finale is both awesome, irritating, and downright sad.  I didn't see it coming that Whip would give up his own life to protect the image of his dead babe party girl.  It was both powerful and upsetting, because I did want him to change and get his shit together.  I can easily see peeps loving it and hating it at the same time.

The very last scene with his son was so obviously tacked on that it felt a little embarrassing to me.  No reason to go there, but the powers that be wanted to end on some sort of high, positive note, and I guess I have to say they succeeded.

If you really look deeply at this script, you'll see it's nothing new at all.  It's ripe with cliches in all forms and of all guises.  It's over the top in every way imaginable.  It's by the numbers writing, dressed up to look like it's outside the box.

But hey, it's got Denzell in a role that is hard to forget, and it pulls absolutely no punches and has to be just about as unmainstream as a mainstream movie can be.  And for that, I salute it.

Not for everyone, but a great flick to study and analyze as a writer.