The Plane

I figured out pretty early on that it didn't take itself seriously or at least Gerard Butler didn't.

14 pax out of Singapore just before Christmas? The flight should have been full. There were lots of errors in predeparture and the comms with the tower when they taxi for take off. And no other planes? The set up was easy to see, prisoner being transported, bad storm and then we're off.

This had all the hall marks of Die Hard, Lethal Weapon and any other action film you can think of from the 80s. After all the dross coming out of Hollywood why not just bring a film out to do one thing and that's entertain. And that's what it did. No woke (and that's a word I hate) message, no easily identified alphabet people (because it didn't matter). Just an action film, a hero and the usual tropes to propel it along. Believability played no part as it didn't in Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, Commando or Rambo (and any subsequent parts). Just a hero, a dubious helper (the prisoner, who's part was never explained but had skills) , a hapless bunch of passengers and some native evil doers with guns. Let the popcorn flow.

I wish they had done more with the passengers, they turned out to be just there and will not be remembered. They certainly could have amped it up more and taken the 80s action higher but it was a good time waster and I felt no need to think beyond what was shown. Hence I didn't care about the errors.

It's a 6 because it entertained me without preaching like most films do at the moment. But for God's sake, NO SEQUEL!

Rebellious pilot Brodie Torrance faces a tough challenge when his plane is struck by lightning, forcing him to land on an island run by a gang of militia.

The title suits this film beautifully, plain and simple, monosyllabic, the perfect film to switch your mind off to, and embrace your inner bloke.

It's so over the top and wild, but super entertaining, you can't help but get caught up in it. A shoot 'em up, big guns, ridiculous testosterone charged dialogue, and a gorilla state that would have worked beautifully back in The Avengers TV series from the 60's.

The only shock, is that Nicholas Cage didn't play the part, it's the sort of film he'd have fitted into beautifully. Fortunately Butler is another one who will take on any role.

Not my usual kind of film, but bizarrely, I rather enjoyed it.

7/10.

Everything is typical here, the Buddy-Genre, the action, the good ones, the evil ones, the mercenaries, and even the dumb ones (of the passengers).

Butler is Butler (bold and sympathetic), Colter is Colter (stoic and sympathetic), and the scenario is quite the simple one, for an audience that needs 1 and a half hours of escaping reality.

And it works. One of the most forgettable movies you can imagine, with almost no background stories, with almost no character development, with almost no depht, it can draw you in until you are one of the few passengers, and later a part of the Captain's rescue mission.

The movie is well made from script, scenery and action to acting and music (Marco Beltrami). I rarely felt that it's a movie. Maybe when, after emergency landing, some passengers are complaining. Who would complain after that ? That was a bit too much of a cliché.

I watched it spontaneously, just out of curiosity, and had no trailer seen before.

So I didn't know the plot. I didn't know what would happen. That was quite a benefit.

I read, that the area of the Philipines, where the movie is located, is indeed most likely as it is depicted here. A beautiful, very dangerous place where warlords reign and people are abducted or killed.

Being a huge fan of the thriller genre and of course Gerard Butler, I could not wait to see the latest movie Plane. In all honesty, I was extremely surprised that it was better than I expected. Now the movie itself was rather predictable, after all, how many movies have been made with a similar concept/storyline over the years however, the movie still succeeded in capturing my attention from start to end. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole film. The movie was filled with edge of your seat moments and I found myself glued to the screen. If you like tense thrillers with a few heartstopping scenes then this is definitely worth the watch.

Plane comes from French director Jean Francois Richet (Assault on Precinct 13) and stars Gerard Butler and Mike Coulter. This movie just works, with no shaky cam and minimal but seething score behind it, Plane rumbles right through at a taught 1:47, and I just got a huge kick out of it.

Though the trailer tells you exactly what the movie is and boy do they just run with it.

The minimal cgi and VFX May baffle modern audiences but this works a throwback to the 1990s with clear and propelling action scenes with great camera work as well.

Plane has a great action, a surprisingly full cast given the premise, and Jean Francois clearly knows what he's doing.

See this in the theatre if you can. 7/10.