The Reel Review
After a lightning strike forces the emergency landing of a commercial jetliner on a remote, rebel-held island in the Philippines, the pilot teams up with a prisoner in transit on his flight to save fellow passengers and crew, in this action/thriller starring Gerard Butler and Mike Colter (Luke Cage, The Good Wife).
The ridiculous name of the airline – Trailblazer – should be the first clue of how laughably stupid this lame-brained story is going to be. The moronic, paint-by-numbers screenplay has Butler as the hapless pilot making a slew of questionable life choices. Not only does he abandon the cockpit to check on passengers DURING the turbulent storm, but after the crash landing, he chooses – not a crewmember! not a passenger! – but the plane’s sole convict to be the one to join him to find help. Wow. ????
It should come as no surprise that character development in Plane is barely even one dimensional, with onscreen chemistry between Butler and Colter is as dry as toast. A throwaway subplot involving smarmy airline executives back at corporate serves only to distract from the action, the only decent element of this film. But for those willing to gate check their brains, the wildly implausible and super silly Plane is at least is entertaining in its sheer ridiculousness.
REEL FACTS
• Lionsgate wanted a different name for Plane but Gerard Butler insisted on its very basic, easy to remember title.
• Although set in the Philippines, the film was shot in Puerto Rico.
• In our post 9/11 world, commercial airline pilots NEVER open a cockpit door mid-flight.
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