Life on the Line

I was so looking forward to this film which is classified as an action/drama film. Mrs. Shullivan and I both worked for the local utility company and we are aware that the risk these lineman (line persons) take working on high voltage systems is real, is extremely dangerous and has led to some unfortunate and untimely deaths.

Life on the Line seems to portray all the lineman in this film as having personal demons, a group of hard drinking brothers, who appear to be standing in line waiting to get themselves killed in the line of duty. Even worse than the depressed characters of the main stars of this feature film were all the clichés that were used so often that I started gagging on my popcorn.

The film did hold my attention for the first half, but as more and more clichés were expressed by the so-called heroes, and the irritating caption at the bottom of the screen kept appearing with the countdown days to the day of the big storm, you had to know someone was going to lose their "Life on the Line" eh?

So the storm comes in more than just by the usual way (no spoiler here) and we see how when a life is lost a new generation of potential line persons are born. I don't think we have to worry about seeing a sequel to this film. Lights out....nothing more to report.

John Travolta is a line man, one of those guys you see in a hard helmet and red vest on power lines, doing something dangerous and obscure.... and the power running. Lives depend on that power, and he's got s pregnant niece, her boyfriend as his new, unobservant apprentice, and a storm on the way.

Watching this attempt to mythologize another form of Texas Hard Man in the aftermath of at least 86 Texans dying because their power grid went out last month.... well it interferes with the impulse; it's hard to print the legend with the facts still fresh in your mind. It's also startling to hear Travolta with a twang overlaying his usual accent, but to my untutored ears, he's pretty good, his face buried under a beard. If's a good updating of the standard western tropes. Perhaps when this year's events have faded, it will seem better.

I realize this is a movie, but some level of realism is expected to make it believable. Not only does the movie show all kinds of ridiculous electrical mistakes with the grid / system, but of course...because linemen are blue collar workers, they have to be portrayed as drunkards and complete idiots. To top it off, the producers can't even attempt to get the geography close to what is supposed to be portrayed in the story. Trust me, there are no oceans, massive lakes, or mountains around Lubbock. And, any major storm coming in off the Gulf of Mexico would take at least a day to make it halfway across Texas. Again, I realize it is a movie, but at least TRY people. Don't pay to watch this film, rather watch it on Amazon Prime or some way you get to see it for free. It's okay to watch on the couch one day when you aren't feeling well...it is at least better than reality-TV...but not by much.

and plan to take a shot every time you spot a cliché. Then you'll be drunk early in to this movie and it won't hurt as bad. My husband actually IS a lineman, as was my father, and if I took a shot for every time I heard my husband sigh and shake his head as we watched this, I'd be dead from alcohol poisoning.

This film tells the story of a foreman of an electricity company in the United States, who is diligent and careful with his job of supervising a group of linesman. The power grid is under threat when a massive storm strikes.

Seeing that this film has John Travolta and went straight to video in some countries, I had low expectations. It actually turned out to be way better than I thought. The story follows him and his niece, who experiences romantic troubles on the small town, where most people seem to work for the same electricity company. The story is engaging and draws me into their world, especially Kate Bosworth's character. I liked the ending too, and I didn't realise that there is an association to help the people who died while servicing power grids. I think this film raises awareness on the grave and try under-recognised dangers of working with the power grid. These workers deserve more appreciation and recognition for their risky job.