Movie Review: Plane (2023)
Synopsis: Brodie Torrance is piloting a passenger airliner from Singapore to Honolulu on New Year's Eve when the plane is struck by lightning and loses power. Despite the odds, he manages to land the plane safely on the island of Jolo in the Philippines. However, with their radio and other equipment damaged, they are unable to alert the airline to their whereabouts and soon find themselves in danger from a gang of rebels that control the island and are looking to collect ransom money for the passengers.
Who's in it? The movie stars Gerard Butler, Mike Colter, Yonson An, Tony Goldwyn and Evan Dane Taylor.
Review: I briefly considered watching Plane in the past but because the Netflix description didn't quite sell me, I usually ended up picking another movie instead. My wife was the one in charge of picking out the movie last night and finally selected this one. As it turned out, it ended up being a good choice.
First of all, as someone who already hates to fly, this movie managed to make me hate the idea even more. This started with the fact the only reason they were even in the situation they were was the airline looking to save money on fuel by having the plane go in the direct path of a storm rather than around it. That's just too realistic not to ignore. Then, once all hell started breaking loose on that plane, I can honestly say I felt my anxiety increasing.
I will admit, I was a little confused at first when they safely landed on the island and seemed concerned about their chances for survival. It was clearly inhabited, the road they used as a runway had various signs of life, ranging from barrels to digging equipment. However, once the movie made it clear inhabited didn't mean safe, then it made a lot of sense.
The challenges they were facing from the gang of rebels made the movie entertaining. Torrance (Butler) and passenger/prisoner Louis (Colter) had military experience, and they eventually did get help from a team of mercenaries sent by the airline, but they were still massively outgunned and there was no clear way off the island. Even Torrance's plan to try to fly the semi-repaired plane off the island seemed like it had little chance to work considering he drained most of the fuel before crash landing (and was lucky the malfunction prevented the rest from being dumped).
The passengers themselves were a bit of a wildcard as well since many didn't seem to want to follow instructions and Louis, who was facing murder charges, had plenty of incentive to turn on Torrance at any given point. I also wasn't so certain the airline wouldn't double cross Torrance as a way of covering up their mistakes. This uncertainty kept the movie entertaining from start to finish.
Final Opinion: It'll probably be even longer before I ever set foot on a plane again, but the film proved to be action-packed and worth taking the time to watch.
My Grade: A
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