Prepare for landing, it's been a bumpy ride.
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Never have we ever encountered a pilot so engaged with their passengers but we suppose terms are different when the pilot is Gerard Butler and he would settle for nothing less than making full use of every possible minute of screen time available to him. Gone may be the days of his 300 prime and glory, but Butler proves he’s still a relevant action star with his dominating presence in brand new action-thriller, Plane.
The Jean-François Richet helmed film begs the question: "Would you rather die in a plane crash, or survive the crash but get stranded on a dangerous island with no certainty of survival?" Thankfully for its audience, the film plays out the scenarios with adequate detail to leave them pondering their fate.
Centering around pilot Brodie Torrance (Butler), Plane follows his survival of the aftermath of an emergency landing in a remote area of the Philippines ruled by heavily armed anti-government militias. The flight passengers are taken hostage while international rescue experts struggle to find their location. Racing against time, Torrance is forced to free a convicted murderer he was tasked with transporting (Mike Colter of Marvel Studios’ Luke Cage fame) and team up with him to save the passengers and find a way off the island.
Right off the bat, Plane’s stark mediocre production quality isn’t too promising on the film as a whole. But as lacklustre and dramatised as some decisions may be, the film isn’t shy of exploring the chilling horrors of the Philippines’ unruly parts which gives the film much needed leverage.
Plane is unofficially “The Gerard Butler Show" but with the limited screen time he had, Scandal’s Tony Goldywn proves a standout with his stellar performance as Scarsdale (former Special Forces officer who leads the rescue effort). Commanding the room with each line uttered, it’s almost as if he’s in a different film altogether. It’s a shame the two don’t share any scenes.
Taking a few leaves out of its screenplay, Plane had a bit of a shaky start due to the pandemic. It also narrowly survives a crash but thanks to its action-heavy sequences, the film succesfully lands an intense delivery that will still have viewers on the edge of their seats.
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