Flight

Movie Name: Flight
Year of Release: 2012

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Stars: Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, Kelly Reilly, John Goodman, Bruce Greenwood, James Badge Dale, Garcelle Beauvais, Ron Caldwell, Tamara Tunie, Nadine Velazquez, Melissa Leo

Genre: Drama

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7

Synopsis:

Robert Zemeckis' is back with his first live action feature since "Cast Away" and "What Lies Beneath" were released in 2000. "Flight" follows the story of Whip Whitaker, a flight captain, who is an accomplished professional, but secretly an alcoholic. In one flight out of Orlando, FLA towards Atlanta, GA, the plane suffers mechanical problems, and thanks to Whip's quick thinking, the plane lands, with some casualties, but still without major fatalities. When the investigation starts, the fact that Whip was under the influence at the time of the flight, becomes a major issue, and his life slowly starts unraveling.
Robert Zemeckis has always been an interesting director. After a successful decade in the 90s (with "Forrest Gump" and "Contact" to name but a few), the following decade was primarily focused on his performance capture films ("The Polar Express" for instance). "Flight" in some ways, has some points of contact with Peter Weir's "Fearless", which featured a fantastic performance by Jeff Bridges, but this film in particular, deals more with the fact that a man has difficulty in dealing with his own demons and shortcomings. Whip can't accept the fact that alcohol and substance abuse has taken over his life and is basically controlling his impulses and everything he does. His family life has been destroyed due to that, and his son basically doesn't know the person he is. The film in itself, presents nothing new in terms of a man who has to fight his own demons, sober up and learn to live again, but Robert Zemeckis manages to create a film that is engaging, dynamic and technically impeccable (the crashing scene is superbly well shot). Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle and Kelly Reilly also create vivid and strong performances. A solid film worth watching.