O Resgate Do Vôo 771

This film is a pleasant enough way to while away a Sunday afternoon. It's becoming something of a cult classic with students (in Britain) due to the casting- Scott Bakula will forever be associated with Dr Samuel Beckett but the more legendary of the two doctors surely has to be Dr Karl Kennedy.....

If you fly or have ever flown as a passenger out over an ocean and experienced its vastness, or if you've ever been lost in the middle of nowhere without a map, at night and running out of gas, then you'll totally relate to this movie about the rescue of a solo Cessna pilot lost over the ocean between Pogo Pogo and Auckland, New Zealand. I found it suspenseful and engrossing in spite of thinking I knew how it'd end. The leads are well acted by Scott Bakula & Robert Loggia despite both of them being strapped to their pilot seats for most of the movie. I found myself on the edge of my seat at times. There characters form an interesting father-son type relationship exclusively from their conversations over the radio. I found their conversations the most interesting part of the movie. And at the end I was totally blown away to discover that this was a true story!

This is an annual tradition for our home.The first time I saw this film I was working toward my pilot's license so it was very timely. Scott Bakula is convincing as the struggling pilot. Robert Laggio has long been a favorite actor of mine. It is also not a quick fix type of story. Life is usually more complicated, as it depicts. You empathize with Jay and his wife and their struggles to keep their marriage going in the face of financial struggles as well as personal desires and needs. I love the message of the film, it has so many messages that apply to our lives. Such as not quitting, dealing with utter loneliness,the power of love and the strength of one individual who decides to stand with someone. The fact it is based on a true story makes it even better. Terrific film.

The fact that the movie is about a little known real-life aviation event in 1978 got me to start watching the movie. What held my interest was the suspense of finding out the fate of "the lost pilot". Scott Bakula was great in this role because he easily came across as a likable fellow who you want to root for.

Basically, the story recounts a 1978 incident near Australia in which a commercial jetliner went looking for a single occupant plane that was lost over the ocean. The small plane was still flying, but had lost navigational capability and was also running out of fuel. The pilot was planning to ditch into the sea ... and no one knew where he was.

The creative techniques that the captain of the commercial jetliner used to try and find the plane were impressive. They are also based on what actually happened - so this was pretty cool to watch. The captain's further efforts to convince the passengers to allow the search were interesting as well. The story was quite unusual as far as "plane" movies go, so this was a treat.

This movie is a pretty good story that just about everyone is likely to enjoy; I recommend checking it out. (If you're a plane enthusiast, definitely catch this one!)

As a Scott Bakula fan, I approached this film with high hopes, and I was not disappointed.

Brilliantly acted, most notably by both Bakula and Loggia who portrayed the growing rapport between the two protagonists very sensitively and realistically.

Having said that, the supporting cast were also well cast, from the main characters such as the wife and the fellow pilot, to minor roles like the boys in the Flight Control booth.

It was funny, it was tense, it had me on the edge of my seat and it had me in tears. It was wonderful.

I highly recommend it.