MPAA Rating: R/ Genre: Action-Thriller/ Stars: Gerard Butler, Mike Colter, Yoson An, Tony Goldwyn, Daniella Pineda, Kelly Gale, Remi Adeleke, Haleigh Hekking, Lilly Krug, Joey Slotnick, Oliver Trevena, Paul Ben-Victor, Quinn McPherson/Runtime: 107 minutes
I think it can safely be said that ever since at least the 80s a distinct subgenre of action cinema has managed to carve out a pretty sweet corner of the box office all for itself. That being the ones that have titles and plots that are considerably either elementary or extremely easy to figure out yet ultimately prove to be quite engaging all the same based on how skilled the work both behind and in front of the camera turned out to be. Perhaps this is why a slice of cinema called Air Force One that takes place on (get this) Air Force One turned out to be a phenomenal popcorn film, another slice of cinema called Cliffhanger turns out to extremely engaging despite being fairly predictable in its regaling of a story about rescue climber Sly Stallone battling a group of terrorists that lost their loot in the mountains during a fierce winter storm, and a movie series called The Expendables deals with a group of highly skilled mercenaries who are also dispensable or, dare I say, expendable and who love to roast one another while shooting, kicking, and just beating up in general literal armies of bad guys left and right. Suffice it to say then that when I saw the trailer for the new Gerard Butler action film only to learn that this intriguing project was given the rather simplistic title of Plane I must say I was a wee bit on the concerned side. That’s because immediately I could safely say that I was sure of at least four things: that the movie was set on an aircraft (to an extent it is), Gerard Butler is onboard the plane in question (absolutely), he’s most likely the pilot of said plane (you know it), and that something will happen that results in him having to save the passengers from some kind of peril (well duhhh). Thus, with all of those elements at play you might be willing to guess that this film is like the aforementioned Air Force One only instead of President Harrison Ford growling “Get Off My Plane!” to Russian terrorist Gary Oldman you get Scottish Spartan Gerard Butler crushing the larynx of one faceless bad guy and stabbing another in the brain. Yet in a weird twist I would like to say that this is that one rare time where that aforementioned description is not entirely accurate. By that I don’t mean the fact that this slice of cinema doesn’t exactly take you on a cinematic flight that you haven’t had the chance to go on before, but in all fairness if you made the decision to buy a ticket for this then you knew that already. Rather, I am talking about it being both wonderfully over the top and fairly competently made on both sides of the camera. Perhaps it is because of those things that I can safely say that Plane is most assuredly flawed, but it is also a fun time to be had as well and sometimes that’s all you need out of a movie.
The plot is as follows: Plane gets its riveting yarn up in the air by introducing us to our main hero, a guy by the name of Brodie Torrance, as he is in the process of making his way to work. That work, we rather quickly learn, is as an airline pilot of some degree of skill who is about to fly a commercial jet from Singapore to Tokyo on New Year’s Eve. Of course, it isn’t long before things get complicated courtesy of the last-minute arrival of a rather distinct addition to the passenger manifest. That being a handcuffed convicted murderer by the name of Louis Gaspare who is being extradited hence the need for him to take a little plane ride. Yet that we soon see isn’t our hero’s biggest concern (though it is fairly high up on the list). That honor would go to the fact that the airline executive in charge wants our hero to fly his plane through the path of an impending horrific storm in an effort to save the airline the cost on fuel rather than have them go the safe (but longer) way around. Yet even though all our hero has to do is just get the flight over the top of the storm and into a safe zone, it quickly becomes apparent that nature might not have gotten the memo on that. This is because it isn’t long before the storm has both battered the plane around quite a bit, but then sent a bolt of lighting directly at it thus cutting out the plane’s multitude of systems including the ones keeping it in the air. Thus as the plane starts to fall out of the sky, it soon becomes obvious that our hero is left with no other options except landing the bloody thing despite being seemingly surrounded on all fronts by water. Yet it isn’t long before through the miracle of plot convenience that our hero spots an island with a road in the dead center that he is then able to land the crippled airliner and its roster of about 14 passengers on safe and sound. With that said though, there’s just one teeny tiny little problem. Namely that this island also happens to be one that is overseen by a scrappy militia of separatist renegades. The same group of renegades who, upon seeing this plane land on their little island paradise, decide to take almost everyone aboard as hostages. I say almost because surprise surprise it appears that the militia forgot two people. Those two people being Brodie and Louis. Thus, with a crisis response team in New York desperately trying to come up with answers and time running out for the hostages, it is up to our intrepid hero to form an unlikely partnership with Louis in order to not only save the hostages and kick bad guy butt, but try to find a way off this island before the militia unit wipes them all out.
Now right off the bat, it should be noted that by and large this slice of cinema’s narrative has quite a bit working in its favor. Indeed, the script and the story are fairly easy to comprehend rather than being complex just so the film could pat itself on the back for being so, the stakes that are established actually come across as genuine rather than conjured up just for the sake of suspense, and the action beats on display prove to be both edge of your seat riveting and also wonderfully realistic respectively. At the same time though, this slice of cinema also does something that is quite distinct which is reveal that, despite all the muscular bravado and adrenaline surging throughout this slice of cinema in a lot of ways, this is also very much a tale about an ordinary man attempting to simply do what is right and save the day with the scarce amount of resources/reinforcements that he has immediate access to. Suffice it to say that it is this distinguishing “against all odds”-type component that not only makes it easier for you to root for our dynamic duo as the film goes on, but also to really appreciate the moments when this slice of cinema is actually able to completely surprise you at certain points throughout that I shan’t spoil here. Having said that though, it should be said that for all the positives behind the camera that this slice of cinema is equipped with there is one detriment that should also be addressed. Namely in regards to the amount of depth our cast of characters is able to receive. Perhaps the key example that comes to my mind dear reader is that we learn fairly early in this slice of cinema’s runtime that our main hero is trying to make it home so he can make up for lost time with his slightly estranged daughter. Unfortunately, as noble as the film is for choosing to incorporate that into the mix, it also does not go out of its way to us enough moments between the two so that this bond could become a key component to who Brodie is as a character. Indeed blending in these very grounded components would have made this film even stronger in my opinion so the fact that this film is unable to do so not only functions as a fumble on the film’s part, but also sees this slice of cinema’s second act feel a wee bit like a slog at certain points. Yet despite the fact that this is one viewing experience that, in that regard, is more than a tad off-kilter, there can be no denying that it does still prove to be satisfying thanks in large part to the genuinely exciting action beats and the otherwise fairly well penned script.
Of course, the other thing that helps keep this slice of cinema in the air is the cast that has been assembled in front of the camera as well. Indeed not only do they all know the kind of movie that they are making, but they all do their best to bring their respective characters to life as well. This starts with (big surprise coming your way here) Gerard Butler in the lead role of Brodie Torrance and honestly he is a genuine delight. Indeed Butler has always brought a dedication to his roles in these gonzo action flicks that is truly commendable and that is definitely the case here as well. Yet, in addition to his usual cheer and applause-worthy moments where he’s dispatching with the army of bad guys, we see that Butler also manages to bring both a degree of wry humor in certain moments as well as being legitimately warm and fatherly in his interactions with his daughter. Suffice it to say that it is another fairly well-done turn from a guy who knows the kind of movies he is skilled at making and always manages to bring his A-game to them nearly every single time and I can’t wait to see what wonderfully gonzo cinematic action effort he gives moviegoers next. Besides the capable work done here by Butler, we as movie goers are also treated to a charismatic performance from Mike Colter in the role of Louis Gaspare. Indeed this is a fairly intriguing and enigmatic character because while he may claim that he is a man who was given the short end of the stick by the law, the film for quite awhile leaves it consistently in doubt as to if he is telling the truth or not. Even with that in mind though, there is no doubt that Colter does a great job at both playing that ambiguity up whilst also making this guy someone you nevertheless love to see partnered up with Butler in kicking bad guy butt. Alongside the winning work done by this duo however, we see that this slice of cinema’s collection of supporting talent also does a fairly good job of contributing to this slice of cinema’s vibe of plausibility. This starts with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’s Daniella Pineda who, in her role of head flight attendant Bonnie, manages to contribute a wonderful degree of charisma and charm to this slice of cinema even if her role is pretty one-note throughout sadly, and extends to Yoson An (Chen in 2020’s live action adaptation of Mulan) who as Brodie’s co-pilot is a wonderful mix of devoted, eager to please, and laser-smart, the wonderful character actor Joey Slotnick (Twister, Hollow Man) who does good as the stereotypical “most annoying passenger on the plane that you want to punch in the face more than once” and both Tony Goldwyn (Tarzan for you 90s Disney kids out there) as well as Paul Ben-Victor who, as the leaders of the airline’s crisis response team all the way in New York City, are tailor-made for their roles in this slice of cinema respectively. Suffice it to say that this slice of cinema might have some issues here and there, but the work done by the cast of players in this does help to make up for those at the very least a wee bit.
All in all is Plane a perfect slice of cinema? Ehhhh no not really. At the same time though, is this slice of cinema an outright fiasco? Honestly I wouldn’t say that either. If anything, I would say that this film is one that operates as a delightful throwback to such 90s movies as 1997’s wonderfully stupid and absurd Turbulence with Ray Liotta and Lauren Holly with bits of Con Air, Air Force One, and Executive Decision being thrown into the mix for good measure. Yet rather than just being content to coast on the fumes of what other cinematic flights of fancy have done before, and done well at that, this one actually has the courage to take off and try to be its own movie. In that regard, I can safely say that it is pleasantly successful in its attempt to do so. No it’s not able to do so fully dear reader, but thanks in large part to capable work from a talented crew behind the camera and fairly good work from a game (even if the majority are a bit one-note in terms of who they are as characters) cast of players the slice of cinema that is Plane is definitely proof that sometimes slapping a movie with a truly stupid title does not always mean that the film that has been slapped with it will be either just as stupid or an outright waste of time. Make of that what thou will dear reader. On a scale of 1-5 I give Plane “2023” a solid 3 out of 5.
