Flight

Hank Scorpio

Can't find a thread on this.

Enjoyed it immensly, Denzel puts in a very powerful performance.

I think there's alot of things in this movie people can relate to.

Apoligies if there's another thread on this but nothing showed up in the search function.

Just wondering how other people found it, the best movie I've seen for a while

niallon

Thought this was fantastic, could have easily tripped over itself and been overly blunt but I thought it handled the subject matter quite well.

I will complain that it is slightly over long though, some trimming to bring it down to maybe 1hr 50 would have helped. Great to see Washington and Zemeckis both back making real movies though, particularly Zemeckis.

2smiggy

Really enjoyed this film, I knew nothing about it except Denzil Washington was in it.

I agree is might be a tad long and drawn out in parts, but fine acting all round and handles the whole

drinking issues

really well.

Sort of a really dark comedy at times , 8.5/10 for me

GrumPy

Loved it, watched it three times over the Christmas. :pac:

kraggy

Extremely unrealistic in parts but very entertaining nonetheless. Very easy to watch and good acting by all.

Outkast_IRE

Very strong acting , the scenes on the plane were amazing.

However the only thing which is actually unavoidable, is that the best scene of the film is at the start, everything after is good but not quite as entertaining i suppose.

Still some great scenes by denzel, anyone see him on graham norton the other night ? he seemed quite reserved.

youcancallmeal

Yeah great film.

I don't why but I didn't get that the film is essentially about coming to terms with and dealing with alcohol/drug addiction until the very end! Maybe I'm just slow but I was starting to get bored and then it all clicked when he admitted at the hearing to being drunk.

saintsaltynuts

Thought it was very good.Denzel was great in it.****/5.

Please Kill Me

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

Still some great scenes by denzel, anyone see him on graham norton the other night ? he seemed quite reserved.

Yeah, seen that. He was very good and quite funny at times. I thought he'd be a dick. I was pleasantly surprised.

connollys

Thought this was poor, overly sentimental and unrealistic.

fluke

I thought it was pretty good but because of it's sentimental direction the film wasn't allowed to go down an interesting route :

that maybe he was able to save so many lives because of the drink and coke

Hank Scorpio

The only things that bugged me abit were

John Goodmans Character seemed more suited to a movie like snatch or something, and it would have been to see more background as to what happened leaving up to his divorce. The scene when he tryed to hug his son was pretty moving though

adox

I really enjoyed it. I find Washington immensely watchable on screen and this is one of his strongest performance in a long time. He play ped "drunk" brilliantly.

red dave

I was a bit disappointed by this one. I think it had the contents of 4 good films contained in what turned out to be a mish mash of all.

1 -

Plane crash and saviour movie (action adventure)

2 -

Rehab movie (powerful drama)

3 -

Plane crash and kick ass lawyer getting justice in a tense legal battle (small guys against big corporation drama)

4 -

John Goodman the drug dealer (comedy)

This one I'd like to see the most

johnny_ultimate

**** the ending to this film. I thought it was a familiar story presented in a relatively offbeat fashion for most of the running time. But the ending - where they really should have pushed for a darker, less revelatory ending - left a sour note. How much more interesting would it have been if

he hadn't decided to tell the truth, and was ultimately left to be consumed by his addiction and guilt? As is, it felt like a Hollywood cheat of the cheapest sort, and would have pushed the film into really interesting thematic territory if it had of been braver. It is a modern Robert Zemeckis film, so I guess fool on me for expecting something different. But sometimes a feelbad ending is exactly what is needed to push a film into much worthier territory.

Other than that, it was a mixed bag but worth a watch. The

crash sequence

is wonderfully presented IMO - tense and desperate. Washington did a good job with his oftentimes unlikeable character. Managed a nice mix between dark humour and drama - although Goodman's character was probably too wacky. Several elements of the story we've seen done before, but it was all handled competently up until the lousy conclusion. One thing that did grate were the on-the-nose music cues throughout - just because you can afford a lot of recongisable pop songs doesn't mean you should use them.

roanoke

I still can't decide whether I like it or not. I always get this vibe with Denzel Washington that his whole m/o is "hey! watch me! I'm acting here!" rather than trying to put in a more subtle convincing performance.

That said tho the whole opening section was very exhilarating and exciting. I loved the cramped authentic look they gave to the cockpit almost wanted the whole movie to take place there.

Worth noting that the movie seemed very disjointed (especially to someone seeing it cold like myself). I didn't know anything going in and quickly thought this might be some sort of special effects tour-de-force disaster movie by Zemeckis. That eventually turn out not to be the case.

I was still puzzled during the hospital section and during the "cigarette in the stairwell" scene I now actually thought was going to be some sort of "sixth sense - you're communicating with dead people Denzel!" story. I honestly didn't even know this movie was meant to just be a straight-forward "the issues of an alcoholic" story probably until about the time Don Cheadle appears.

I don't know if anyone else got this vibe off it. Probably not.

cassid

Not sure about this one.

The first scene bugged me the female walking up and down (am a female, can you tell ) I just could not see the relevance of it or what it added to the story. I don't have an issue with nudity, but she was annoying me walking up and down, bending over etc etc ended up missed the conversation on the phone as it was bugging me.

the crash scenes are good.

2smiggy

cassid wrote: »

Not sure about this one.

The first scene bugged me the female walking up and down (am a female, can you tell ) I just could not see the relevance of it or what it added to the story. I don't have an issue with nudity, but she was annoying me walking up and down, bending over etc etc ended up missed the conversation on the phone as it was bugging me.

the crash scenes are good.

I too was not taking much notice to what was said in the phone conversation :pac::pac:

Birneybau

I'm a dude and really like hot, naked women but even I thought the first scene was ridiculously gratuitous.

Anyway, the rest of the film. The word that came to mind most often was

Corny. Corny, Corny, Corny!

I just cannot believe that it has been nominated for best screenplay at the Oscars.

As for John Goodman,

drug terminology as written by Mormons.

"See you on the Dark side of the Moon".

Indeed.

Sad Professor

A well directed, better than average Denzel movie, but the ending doesn't work. Zemeckis should have a taken a page out of his own book and left things on a more open ended Cast Away-type note. Less is more, no need to tie things up a bow.

Dermighty

The best performance I've seen from denzel, I felt he was overrated in many of his films, this was a good movie.

Frank Black

All the good scenes are in the opening 30mins,

the plane crash

,

the naked lady

,

Denzil taking loads of coke

.

After that it settles down to a

standard Hollywood addition movie borefest

.

theparish

Hard to believe a certain blood report can just disappear,blaming faulty equipment in this day and age and that co pilot and air hostess would remain quiet had Denzel not let the cat out of bag

repsol

Just seen it in the cinema.Loved it! If you want realism watch a documentary. Its for entertainment.

delbertgrady

The opening scene with the aforementioned gratuitous nudity is almost laughably bad. I can't believe Nadine Velazquez agreed to it, 'cos it's hardly essential to the scene, or her character.

Kelly Reilly is probably the healthiest-looking drug addict I've ever seen on screen, John Goodman is like a bad, "jolly drug dealer" persona as written by a first-timer, but the single most irritating thing about the entire film was the "Classic Hits, Robert Zemeckis FM" soundtrack, which hits you with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Gimme Shelter, Sympathy for the Devil, Ain't No Sunshine, What's Going On and - worst of all - Under the Bridge underscoring Kelly's druggie lifestyle. Again, more like a first time director, filling their movie (budget permitting) with their favourite songs. It's not Forrest Gump, Bob. A few more sublime choices would have worked a hell of a lot better.

Yet despite all this, I actually thought it was grand overall. I can only attribute this to Denzel's performance, and I can see why he got an Oscar nomination, 'cos the Academy love that whole "tortured soul" routine, but - like many an Oscar nod that rewarded a decent performance in a mediocre film - the film itself is certainly flawed.

Linguo

We went to see this at weekend, both enjoyed it, the first 30 mins were great and Denzel was very good as always although comparing him to Daniel Day Lewis he doesn't really stand a chance at the Oscars.

Only thing we didn't really dig was the very slight glorification given to his drug and alcohol addiction. I mean John Goodman makes drug dealing look like the coolest thing going and loads of the audience were laughing at Denzel when he was getting drunk which seemed a bit strange as we didn't feel it was quite that type of movie.

Overall great watch though!

roanoke

The nude scene was weird in itself but I found it even stranger given Robert Zemeckis was the director. I would have thought he was one of those "name" directors who didn't feel the need to pander to the producers/audience with T&A. Unless he was making some sociological or artist 'point' with it that I just didn't get.

Sad Professor

roanoke wrote: »

The nude scene was weird in itself but I found it even stranger given Robert Zemeckis was the director. I would have thought he was one of those "name" directors who didn't feel the need to pander to the producers/audience with T&A. Unless he was making some sociological or artist 'point' with it that I just didn't get.

It's HBO syndrome. Something isn't really adult unless it has gratuitous sex and nudity. I'd put it down to the kiddisation of Hollywood films in recent years causing adults to tune out.

repsol

Lot of prudes on this thread. That girl has an amazing body and that bedroom scene was supposed to show the aftermath of a coke,drink and sex all nighter between her and Whip. A girl like that is hardly going to get all shy and put on a bath robe is she? If you don't want to see nudity and sex you should watch a film that IS NOT about an alcoholic,coke taking divorcee in a job that involves frequent stays in hotels with fit young females maybe Downton Abbey would be more your cup of tea.Maybe you just like having something to moan about.

Corholio

repsol wrote: »

Lot of prudes on this thread. That girl has an amazing body and that bedroom scene was supposed to show the aftermath of a coke,drink and sex all nighter between her and Whip. A girl like that is hardly going to get all shy and put on a bath robe is she? If you don't want to see nudity and sex you should watch a film that IS NOT about an alcoholic,coke taking divorcee in a job that involves frequent stays in hotels with fit young females maybe Downton Abbey would be more your cup of tea.Maybe you just like having something to moan about.

People aren't complaining about the nudity in itself, it's the context it was in. Nobody's being prude at all. Sounds like yours was just trying to be a 'look I've seen boobies before' kind of post. Also what has the fact she has an amazing body got to do with it??

Brendan Filone

Denzel carried the movie. There was a collective moan from the audience when

he grabbed that vodka bottle off the mini fridge!

repsol

Corholio wrote: »

People aren't complaining about the nudity in itself, it's the context it was in. Nobody's being prude at all. Sounds like yours was just trying to be a 'look I've seen boobies before' kind of post. Also what has the fact she has an amazing body got to do with it??

People ARE complaining about the nudity if you read the thread.The fact she has a good body might explain why some women would have an issue with the scene.If she was some slob nobody would have mentioned her but I doubt the character Whip bothered sleeping with slobs.Never heard anyone use the word "boobies" since I was about 12 until now:D.You refer to "context". Please explain how nudity in a bedroom is out of context.

Corholio

repsol wrote: »

People ARE complaining about the nudity if you read the thread.The fact she has a good body might explain why some women would have an issue with the scene.If she was some slob nobody would have mentioned her but I doubt the character Whip bothered sleeping with slobs.Never heard anyone use the word "boobies" since I was about 12 until now:D.You refer to "context". Please explain how nudity in a bedroom is out of context.

That's the point of the phrase....but moving on.

It's out of context because it seems gratuitous, especially compared to the rest of the film, it's also not really something I'd expect of Zemeckis, as someone mentioned earlier.

Read the posts again, nobody complains about just the nudity, there's context and reason behind it. But complaining about naked women must be gay, whatever the reason right? :rolleyes:

juan.kerr

Great film, Kelly Reilly is hot.

bogmanfan

Didn't like this at all. The nudity at the start was the highlight for me.

Raekwon

I thought it was an decent movie. It was very well made but I didn't find it entertaining once the investigation begun, it kind of dragged out. You've got to hand it to Washington though, he is one of the best actors around and his performance absolutely was top notch in this.

Btw I don't know why everybody is getting their knickers in a twist about the nudity. Nadine Velazquez has an incredible body, especially for a 34 year old. Gratuitous or not, it was one of the highlights of a great first 30 minutes. Anyway, the nudity gave the movie one of its best lines:

Whip: "I've been up since the crack of dawn" while staring at her bending over

Table Top Joe

Went in to this cold,avoided this thread........i have to admit i enjoyed the nudity(good Jesus she looks amazing)but it did feel a bit ott in fairness,it was quite distracting too:o


I didnt know what to make of Goodmans character,seemed like Walter Sobcheck channeling The Dude,i have to agree with the comment on the music too,some incredibly obvious choices,some absolutely brilliant music....but its all been done so many times before("Gimme Shelter" is f***ing genius.....but i really dont need to hear it in another movie)


Despite some miner moans i really enjoyed it,im not crazy about Washington usually but i thought he was fantastic in it,maybe the best ive seen him,overall its a fine movie,great cast too,worth a look i think

Potential-Monke

Just back from it, and i enjoyed it.

The nudity at the start was spot on imo. They had a drug and drink fueled few days, and it was obvious that they had just woken up after said session, and i'm sure not every woman thinks to put on their knickers after a 3 day romping session. It felt natural.

The plane scenes were brilliantly handled, and when yer one's

ankle snapped

, i felt it! Granted, the plane

going upside down

was ott, but it was explained, even if it may not be possible - i know nothing about planes!

The rest of the film was well written imo, and while it did drag here or there, i think it all fit well together. I was expecting a big legal battle at the end, and the film should have ended when

Whip admitted to being an alcoholic

, would have been perfect right there, but they had to add in that holier than thou bit at the end... Ruined the ending for me.

pixelburp

I thought it a very standard narrative; the sort of film where typically you'd find yourself saying something like "It won't win any awards but ...", although of course it could do just that thanks to Washingtons performance. The crash sequence was very well handled & suitably tense, but once we landed (so to speak) the film played it safe, to a fault.

The use of hackneyed musical numbers & Goodmans character made the addiction concept feel very clumsy in places, but again: Washingtons performance brought it all back to reality & gave the film an edge it otherwise lacked (I also found the product placement of the various alcohol brands very incongruous, maybe it was just me). As for the ending, I didn't object to it too much:

seemed like the narrative was always hurtling towards that moment of clarity for Whitaker, that he'd past the point of no return and was confronted with a chance for catharsis & owning up to his addiction. I don't always agree that the downbeat ending is automatically "better", narratively.

I am curious though: to anyone of an aeronautical bent - is Whitaker's manoeuvre actually possible
in real life? I know it's mentioned in the film just how impossible it was, but I'm interested to know if it could be done (realistically)

marco_polo

pixelburp wrote: »

.....

I am curious though: to anyone of an aeronautical bent - is Whitaker's manoeuvre actually possible
in real life? I know it's mentioned in the film just how impossible it was, but I'm interested to know if it could be done (realistically)

Not sure but I'd guess it at least as feasile as two engines independantly catching fire during a seemingly completely unrelated mechanical failure .

Either way I'm looking forward to that episode of Mythbusters.

drumslate

I really enjoyed it and thought Denzel Washington was amazing as per usual.

PerrinV2

Saw this last this night(wasn't planned though),unfortunately I had watched the oscars the night before...

adox

PerrinV2 wrote: »

Saw this last this night(wasn't planned though),unfortunately I had watched the oscars the night before...

Yeah unforgivable spoiler in the clip at The Oscars.

Mickeroo

adox wrote: »

Yeah unforgivable spoiler in the clip at The Oscars.

What did they show?

Saw this the other week. it wasn't bad & Denzel was very good as always but I found it pretty mediocre over all. Predictable oscar-bait through and through.

PerrinV2

Mickeroo wrote: »

What did they show?

Saw this the other week. it wasn't bad & Denzel was very good as always but I found it pretty mediocre over all. Predictable oscar-bait through and through.

They showed him in court admiting he was drunk

Mickeroo

PerrinV2 wrote: »

They showed him in court admiting he was drunk

Lousy.

Fysh

Saw this yesterday; the first act is great, the second act is all over the place, the third act is mostly predictable, albeit in a sense that you know what's going to happen even if it doesn't really make sense.

The most frustrating thing for me was the bizarre doublethink on display: on one hand, there's constant pressure on Whip to

admit he was drunk, and take responsibility for having taken control of the plane while intoxicated

, but on the other hand

the ENTIRE BLOODY NARRATIVE is predicated on the accident being entirely out of his control and his actions having been the sole reason that anyone survived the crash at all

. It just didn't hang together properly for me, it felt like two different screenwriters were trying to pull in opposite directions. (

A serious drama about the nature of addiction in which a binge before a court session is remedied via a comedy sequence featuring a substantial dose of cocaine?

Errr....no.)

Washington and Goodman were very good, and Insightful Cancer Patient was fantastically entertaining for his brief appearance, but as a film it felt like the narrative was being twisted to the point of incoherence in order to serve The Message. It's worth a watch for the first act alone, but it unravels around half-way through.

The Black Oil

Generally enjoyed it. Agree with some the criticisms on here, such as the heavy use of tunes. The nude scene was a bit excessive. Girl gets up, boobies. Girl walks to dresser, boobies. Girl walks across the room...etc. I'm not a prude, but it seemed a bit lazy and distracting. In other films there are scenes like that, which don't seem to drag on.

As to the substance of the film, enjoyed Denzel's performance, and James Badge Dale's scene, too. The crash was pretty well done, the first officer was sorta panicky to the point of embarrassment, though I suppose a lot of people would be freak out. I was more impressed by the immediate aftermath - Whip waking up in the hospital, very few words, just getting his bearings back before hearing from the doctor and NTSB. Overall, it felt a little baggy, and sometimes they overused the 'no one else could have landed that plane!' line. They didn't get into much of the mechanics of the investigation, but that's not what it was about. Leave that for Air Crash Investigation.

Re the ending,

I suppose it was inevitable. He saved the flight, but he couldn't give a damn abut his own instruments. With alcohol and drugs being so much a part of his life he was flying upside or in a dive, so he had to crash hard, emotionally, with SFA help/pushing everyone away, to recover and turn his life around. I think they could have closed without visiting time with his son, but 'who are you, really?' or whatever the line was seemed OK rather than an OTT reunion.

April O Neill

Saw this last night. Liked it until the last ten minutes - ridiculously corny.

The nudey bit at the start was grand, if a little bit distracting. But people aren't going to be covering themselves up when trying to get ready in the morning. She was just getting her shít together.

Eli Nich

Red Dave - Spoiler 4 - lol

Dots1982

Watched this over Christmas, can’t believe more people didn’t enjoy John Goodman’s part and er....lines (pardon the pun).

“You stroke that thing all day, you’re a hero”
“I said a few words mainly straight talk”
“Don’t touch the merch mother****er”