Turbulences 2

TURBULENCE 2: FEAR OF FLYING / (2000) *1/2 (out of four)

By Blake French:

"Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying" is an unusually stupid movie-but what can we expect from a straight-to-video action picture with few known actors and even fewer similarities with the original 1997 thriller "Turbulence." It's a shallow, incompetent movie with no brains and no thrills. The production contains many characters and a legion of plot twists, but they are meaningless to the actual story. None of those twists or characters contributes to the interest factor, and we are stuck watching utter insanity for almost two hours. This is not a smooth ride.

The story centers on a group of ordinary pedestrians who recently completed a therapy program to overcome their fear of flying. They celebrate by taking a flight to L.A. Unfortunately a clan of terrorists hijack the plane. They carry with them a load of extremely dangerous chemical weapons. After killing the pilot, they threaten to kill the rest of the passengers if given any trouble. One of the passengers isn't going to go down without a fight, however, and he's ready to save the day.

I watched "Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying" with great interest in how a movie so centered on an airplane could have no clue about the technical aspects of airplanes. Would any airline employee fire a gun inside a flying jet? Would it be possible for a young boy to run outside on the tarmac at a major airport with being stopped by someone? Is it possible to stand feet away from an open door on a jet going so fast? Can someone control the flaps from within the cargo hold? Are there really elevators aboard a 747? Can a handgun fire twenty-two rounds without reloading? This movie answers yes to all of those questions. I am no expert, but I beg to differ.

Most of the characters are one-dimensional and thoughtless plot puppets who do nothing but utter howlingly bad dialogue. Although many of the characters have a great fear of flying, their fear somehow disappears once the terrorists take over the flight. Some of the twists are kind of fun and surprising, but many exist only to provide a split second shock. The action lacks aim. The direction lacks impulse. The movie lacks a point, and just about everything else.

The actors in "Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying" don't really know what to do with their stereotypical characters because there isn't much for them to do. We can sense an inclination of talent involved with this production since the performances are fair and the set designs believable. But the script's stupidity is too distracting for any informed moviegoer to redeem satisfaction from this cluttered mess of an action picture. This is just another addition into the stupid hijack movie of the month series-but this one is more ridiculous than most.

Actually this movie is a bit better than the ridiculous first part, which was nothing less than shameful. But when I saw this I actually had a good time. Now I thinking seriously about renting part 3, but who knows...

All airplane flicks tend to throw in the kitchen sink to fill the time but this may have surpassed even the spoofs in having a "and then what happened" motif. How many times can the passengers rise up against the villains and then back down like sheep can you handle? How many shots can you fire in an airplane and not lose pressure? Do you believe you can throw a passenger from a plane at 10,000 feet and have the body crash through the control tower landing in front of the "good guys"? Kidnapping, toxins, fights, missiles but they won't toss the luggage until they find the exact baggage. Gosh that's better than most airlines on a normal day. And so it goes. Acting level? Well, find any one who wasn't a caricature.

Its bad but it starts to turn the corner and just be laughable and that is about all that can make you sit through this movie. Now the real question is what was Turbulence 1 like that they made another one?

The plot of this film is just so preposterous it makes "Airplane!" look like a slice of gritty realism. Nervous flyers on a plane in a terrible storm with evil European terrorists (no clue as to what their cause was, other than "being evil"), deadly nerve gases, dead cabin crew, drugged ice cubes, gun fights, a missile attack, and an ordinary Joe who has to land the plane (he has a dead wife, and an impossibly cute little son, of course).

As the action lurched from this implausible random plot twist to that piece of clunky, cliche-ridden dialogue, I found myself being charmed by the sheer awfulness of it all.

My favourite part is when a terrorist starts babbling in Czech, and Jennifer Beals offers to try and interpret since she learned a few words of Polish from her Grandmother as a child. Seconds later she is in full swing: "He says that there is a deadly nerve gas in the hold, and he will press the detonator killing everyone within a 5 mile radius"....Whatever did her grandmother talk about all the time that she picked up that vocabulary?

How can you look at this film and not consider it ingenious?!

1) I turned this movie on right as they got on the airplane. When the crazy Russian guys entered the plane, the dark and scary music started playing, trying to convince you that it was them who were terrorists. They make it kind of like Air Force One, but a little more prejudiced. 2) As you look at the characters, you can guess the hero of the day is going to end up being Jeffrey Nordling and that the nerdy and weak guy Craig Sheffer is the type of guy that gets killed immediately for disobeying "Elliot's" rules. 3) Was the Russian guy and "British Intelligence" guy in on it together?

A:Well they had to be. What "two sets" of terrorists enter on a plane, especially when it happens to be for people who are awarded a free flight for the last flight? B: No Way it can't be. The Russian chap claimed that the other guy was lying. Additionally, the other Russians were dozed by the ice in the water. C: But wait!! They had to be! They both had those ridiculous wolverine-like claws that were incredibly original.

4)This plot was simply humorous. An anthrax bomb to destroy everything in a 5000 mile radius. WHATT!!!?!?!?!?! So Random. Hey and remember those claws? That was cool.

5) After we discover that Elliot isn't British Intelligence, he changes his accent from that English accent. Clever.

6) We can clearly pick up Elliot's inner insanity when he goes "Ok I need a volunteer, anyone? Come on! You all have a right to vote!" That is what I call sweet acting.

7)Elliot takes out his anger on the lawyer because he hates all lawyers stereotypically because of his past. Simply Stunning. He throws him out of the plane and he happens to land in the air traffic control center. And what's even more brilliant, Elliot knew it was going to happen as he says something like "send them a message for me!"

8) When the girl resists before he tries to throw the guy off the plane, he is already a little angry at her for her little performed plan in the upper compartment. Realistically, he wants nothing to do with her and he goes "will you stop it! UGH! I'm sick of you!" THAT KILLED ME.



ONE OF THE FUNNIEST MOVIES I'VE EVER SEEN.