Flight, 2012.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis.
Starring Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, Kelly Reilly, John Goodman, Bruce Greenwood, and Melissa Leo.
SYNOPSIS:
Flight may not be one of the first films people go to when asked about director Robert Zemeckis’ career, but it’s a fine piece of moviemaking that deserves the restoration by Kino Lorber that’s found on this new Blu-ray. You also get a healthy batch of extras.
I hadn’t seen Robert Zemeckis’s 2012 film Flight, from a script by John Gatins, before I watched it for this review, so the subject matter hit me hard in the feels, as the kids say these days. But more on that in a moment.
Denzel Washington stars as William “Whip” Whitaker, a drug addict and alcoholic who’s also a pilot for fictitious SouthJet Air. He’s hung-over during a seemingly routine flight from Orlando to Atlanta, having spent the night drinking with flight attendant Katerina Marquez (Nadine Velazquez) , but when a catastrophic incident happens, he’s able to crash-land the plane with minimal loss of life, although Katerina is one of the deaths.
He wakes from his injuries up in a hospital room and finds pilots union representative Charlie Anderson (Bruce Greenwood) there. After Charlie leaves, his drug dealer, Harling Mays (John Goodman), shows up with some “treats.” Whip is initially hailed a hero for his ability to bring the plane down relatively safely, which included flying it upside-down to stabilize its flight, but questions about his sobriety that morning start casting a pall over the feel-good media stories.
Pilots union attorney Hugh Lang (Don Cheadle) now enters the story. Hugh is candid about Whip’s toxicology report, and Whip ends up fleeing the media scrutiny with Nicole Maggen (Kelly Reilly), a fellow drug addict he had met in the hospital. They head to Whip’s father’s farm, and the pair begin feeding off each other’s addictions, sending Whip down a dark path with a National Transportation Safety Board hearing into the crash on the horizon.
Flight had an impact on me because my father, who died in 2022, was an alcoholic for many years. He was functional — until he wasn’t, of course — and he raised us four kids for a long time after my parents’ divorce, since my mother was mentally ill and her life was a neverending turbulent rollercoaster ride. He was also a pharmacist, which means he likely filled many prescriptions while inebriated, although I’m not aware that he ever made a mistake and harmed someone. Still, no one wants a drunk pharmacist handling their medication, just like no one wants a drunk pilot in the cockpit of their flight, no matter how well either of them might be able to do their job, and eventually my father’s drinking caught up to him and he was forced to retire under threat of being fired.
It was a shame his career ended the way it did; he later hit rock bottom before finally getting sober for the rest of his life. I imagine Whip did the same thing after the end credits rolled in Flight. I believe everyone deserves a second chance (and maybe even more than that, depending on the situation), and this film, as predictable as its plot is, still left me satisfied in the end.
Kino Lorber has issued this film on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD — I received the former for this review. They commissioned a 4K restoration that has Flight looking great on any setup and included a nice batch of bonus features. I’m not sure what’s new here and what was ported over from previous home video editions, but here’s what you’ll find:
• Audio Commentary: Film historian/writer Julie Kirgo and filmmaker/writer Peter Hankoff discuss everything from their own personal attitudes toward flying to the real-life airline crash that inspired the film (sadly, that one didn’t involve a heroic landing by the pilot) to plenty of information about this film and everyone involved in it.
• Impact: Interview with Director Robert Zemeckis and Screenwriter John Gatins (28:57): This is a new interview with the pair looking back on the film, from its development to shooting to release to reception by critics and the public.
• Origins of Flight (10:30): The development of the film gets the focus here, with plenty of behind-the-scenes footage to supplement the story.
• The Making of Flight (11:32): This was Zemeckis’s first live-action film in nearly a decade, so this making-of notes that while getting into a breezy recap.
• Anatomy of a Plane Crash (7:47): The crash itself is easily the most intense part of this film, so of course it gets its own examination too.
• Q&A Interview Highlights (14:18): Culled from a post-screening Q&A in 2012, these are highlights of answers given by Zemeckis, Gatins, Don Cheadle, John Goodman, and others who were on the panel.
The trailer for this movie and five others available through Kino Lorber round out this platter.
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Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Brad Cook
