Pânico no Ar

'Ground Control' is probably the biggest surprise I've ever encountered since I became a movie fan years ago. It's incredibly well done, with great performances all around, and is seriously the best independent action film I've ever seen, if that could be imagined. The climax is truly riveting, aided by tight editing and strong direction. The real surprise with this movie is that almost all of it takes place in a single set, a fact that the director/editor managed to cover up. It seems that real care was poured into 'Ground Control', a rare feat these days with the countless B action flicks being pumped out each month, and it shows. It's sad that the movie didn't enjoy even a short theatrical run, as it more than deserves it, especially after the similar, and far inferior, 'Pushing Tin' making it into theaters a year later.

It's as if the producers managed to find the only actors that actually have talent and haven't yet made it big time, and casted them in this movie. Kiefer Sutherland (The Lost Boys) is great in the main role, and is given strong support from Kelly McGillis (Top Gun, Witness- and the only real high profile actor in the film), Kristy Swanson (The Chase) and Robert Sean Leonard (Dead Poets Society)

The production values are unexpectantly high, especially for a movie on a budget like this one. Very good direction, commendable editing, and a superb script. The dialog is crisp and realistic, with a few really good one-liners, something I've never seen in a low budget action movie. The musical score is original and also very good, comparable to that of many large studio productions.

Despite a few flaws already pointed out in previous postings, I absolutely loved this movie, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in seeing a refreshing break from the norm.

9/10

If any airport in the US were this badly maintained, it would be shut down before you could say 'Thrust Reverser'. The number of thing that go wrong here and the jury-rigged way this tower is put together is almost comical.

Having said that, Keifer's acting is rock solid as always. Kelly McGillis is not so bad, and Buffy takes an unusual turn as a nerd. Not anything I would go out of my way to see, but not bad if you come across it on TV either...

Note: The steering by way of using the thrust on the engines was a real life incident. Unfortunately, the results were not quite so good.

BTW, why didn't Fonzie just bang his fist on the computers to fix them? Ayyyy!!!

Five years after he was kicked off the job after being on shift during a plane crash, Jack Harris is called back into the job to cover a busy Christmas period (if only to run the printer tags). However, Jack takes over from a rookie and gets back into it despite flashbacks. However his skills are pushed to breaking point when the traffic control system suffers several major failures and power cuts.

Like the vast majority of viewers, I came to this film on the back of Sutherland's recent return to the spotlight in 24. In the advertisement this film appeared to be a tense film about the tight world of air traffic control, however in reality this film fails to ever really get going or have anything which grips or engages. The plot is pretty full of holes and episodic, it relies on the characters speaking jargon really quickly more than making the danger and urgency of any of the situations seem real. Some have said that this film is not realistic - I don't know, but I suspect they are right. Certainly it fails to make any valid points about a system that (in the UK) many acknowledge is starting to show cracks at best.

The film's episodic nature suggests it lacks any sense of focus other than the general situation that made up the film's pitch. This sucks any momentum out of it and leaves it stuttering a lot. The cast look like they will prevent this - at least on paper they do, in reality they are bogged down by a film that must have looked like it had potential to be as taut as an elastic band. Sutherland does OK but can't find the tension any better than I could. Comparisons with 24 are null and void, even if his character here is called Jack. Leonard is pretty good in support but not even a cast that includes faces like McGill, McGillis, Swanson and Winkler can raise this above average.

While it is not awful, it is just really unmemorable to say the least. The plot isn't sure where it is going and goes nowhere as a result. With this the tension falls away to zero and the well-known cast only serves to remind that potential is being lost in all areas with this film.

i was bought this film as a gift and was not expecting much from it. After 10 minutes of the film i was hooked. The story line is a little predictable however, its done very well. Keifer Sutherland is at his best and delivers a great performance. It just goes to show that just because a film is not packed with special FX and CGI doesn't mean its not a top notch film.

As an aviation buff I was really excited to see this movie. Although there were a few inaccuracies (such as planes changing models and such), it really wasnt a bad film. I could really identify with the characters and you could really care or hate them. Overall I'd give this movie an 8/10.

PS: To all the people who posted about the "real" crash footage....it was from Delta Flight 191 and it was an L1011 that crashed at Dallas in 85. United 232 was a DC-10 and it crashed in Sioux City Iowa in 1989.