Movie Review: Flight

Flight

Jeremy Cooper: Layout Editor

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Cast: Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, Kelly Reilly, Bruce Greenwood

Synopsis: Captain Whip Whitaker (Washington) is an airline pilot with severe alcohol and drug addictions. One fateful day, the plane he is flying suffers a malfunction. He manages to save most of the passengers onboard in the ensuing crash and is hailed as a hero. However, he was drunk the night before and on the morning he flew the plane and the resulting investigation into the crash could put him in prison for life.

Review: For the past decade or so, director Robert Zemeckis has made only animated motion-capture films with middling results. Finally, he returns to live-action cinema. Zemeckis has always been about spectacle, with blockbusters Back to the Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit ranking among his best works. However, his more dramatic material, such as Forrest Gump and Cast Away,  while good and possessing many strong merits, also have many noticeable flaws and the same can be said about Flight. 

There are moments lacking in subtlety, such as the use of classic rock songs to spell out situations the characters are going through in a painfully obvious manner. I found the recurring theme of God and religion to be among the weaker moments in the movie, including one scene where Whitaker visits his hospitalized co-pilot which goes from serious and engaging to laughable when the topic is eventually brought up. Fortunately, there are only a few short scenes featuring the God theme so it doesn’t affect the film too much. 

Another problem I had with the film was Kelly Reilly’s character, a recovering drug addict who serves as a romantic interest for Whitaker. While Reilly plays the part well, both of these character arcs are not wrapped-up in a satisfying manner, especially since she disappears for the last forty minutes. In the end, her character doesn’t really add anything other than to reinforce the well-established point that Whitaker has a problem, and ultimately didn’t need to be in the film.

These afore-mentioned problems aren't bad, just unnecessary.  What is bad, however, is the ending, where Whitaker pulls a character 180 without enough buildup to make a satisfying payoff, and it's done just so there can be a feel-good, redemptive ending. That was really frustrating. 

Despite these flaws, there are a lot of good things in this movie and I did really enjoy it. The plane crash at the beginning is spectacular and shows that Zemeckis hasn’t lost his touch as a director. The second-half of the film then becomes a character-study on addiction. Although this is where most of the problems I’ve discussed occur, it is, for the most part, restrained, compelling and always engaging. 

Even when Flight hits its narrative shortcomings, it is held-aloft by Denzel Washington, who gives a nuanced and tortured performance that conveys so much complex emotion, even in scenes where he has no dialogue. Whitaker isn’t always likable, but Washington makes him into a compelling character who you do want to see get better and feel devastated when he fails to do so. These positives, in addition to a terrific supporting cast, help the movie rise above its faults and keep the audience constantly invested in the story.

Consensus: Despite its flaws, Flight is a solid outing from Robert Zemeckis and features a typically strong performance from Denzel Washington. 

Verdict: 7 out of 10