Flight

Year: 2012
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Cast: Denzel Washington, Kelly Reilly, Don Cheadle, Bruce Greenwood, John Goodman, Melissa Leo


Plot: Airline pilot Whip Whitaker suffers from severe alcohol addiction. It doesn't become a problem for him, until the day he spectacularly lands a plane during a mechanical failure and his addiction comes to light during the investigation on the crash by the authorities.


Review: Flight is Robert Zemeckis' first live action film in 12 years, finally returning to it after making a handful of uninspiring animated films. Although this film is clearly better than those animated ones, credit should be given mostly to Zemeckis' leading man Denzel Washington, as he carries the film for the most part.

As Whip Whitaker, Washington gives his character plenty of vulnerability and flaws, which is something rare from him. His character is basically someone who has an addiction problem, but doesn't consider it a hindrance because he doesn't really allow it to take control of him or allow others to notice it or even admit it's a problem to begin with, at least until it comes out into the open and the level of his problem escalates. Then things slowly take a downward spiral and he has to come to terms with it. Washington does all this very convincingly throughout the film, and because of that, Flight is a solid piece on the effects of alcohol addiction.

The supporting cast also provide some good moments alongside Washington. Kelly Reilly is solid as Nicole, a fellow drug addict who befriends Whip after the crash. Don Cheadle is also great as the union lawyer representing Whip for his case. John Goodman provides the comedic parts as Whip's drug supplying friend, who has some of the best lines in the movie. Special mention goes out to James Badge Dale as a cancer patient who talks to Whip at the hospital. It's just one scene but Dale makes it count.

Though Washington gets a lot of credit from me, Zemeckis needs to take some too, especially for staging the plane crash. It's not as bombastic as Cast Away, but it looks pretty good on screen. The problem is the other parts of the film, which kinda drags every now and then. As a result, Flight ends up being 138 minutes long, which doesn't necessarily mean it's bad, just that it feels a lot longer than that.

Overall, Flight is almost a nice return to form for Zemeckis, though he hasn't quite achieved Back To The Future or Cast Away level greatness yet. But Denzel fans ought to watch this. (3.5/5)