Flight: The Re(al) - view

Whip: Nobody could've landed that plane like I did.

I've got to admit that the inverted plane on the trailer and Denzel Washington starring sold me to this film. I was thinking awesome plane stunt plus Denzel with his game face on , and Don Cheadle looking all 'goony' equals action movie ... right? Wrong! After checking out the plot I was a bit uninterested, thus making me delay its viewing till this January. I knew it was a good film, I just didn't think I would be this good; I mean if you saw 'Safe House', you would know why I didn't rush into seeing the film upon its release.

'Flight' is not your typical film, its thought provoking and morally enthralling plot, centred  by a complex (and troubled) character makes Denzel's performance truly worthy of the Academy Awards nomination for Best Actor that he received (although him winning is really a long shot). His character airline pilot, Captain 'Whip' Whitaker, is truly a fine definition of the word - Drunk, I mean this man loves his drink and uses cocaine to take care of his hangover (who knew?); on top of it all, Whip, is also a mighty fine pilot. Denzel's performance takes the viewer on an emotional trip, where you see how the curse of addiction peels away the livelihood of a man worthy of the word 'Hero'. To cap it off, this is a character study of the life of an alcoholic, who also knows too well how to live in denial.

Harling Mays: I'm on the list, baby girl. Mister Mays. Harling.

The supporting cast cannot be ignored, as their characters neatly and realistically (at least in my humble opinion) tangoed with Whip's 'condition', from his damaging relationship with his girlfriend Nicole (by Kelly Reilly) to the loyal friend Charlie (by Bruce Greenwood), to the lawyer - Lang (by Don Cheadle) and finally, his true-blue friend and dealer Harling Mays (by John Goodman) - who owned every scene he appeared. These characters all show the intensity of Whip's denial, to his addiction, in its progressive stage (except for Mays) to the point where you just feel like throwing him under the bus. 

Robert Zemeckis (director) topped up this movie with the brilliant-yet-unbelievably-scary upside-down flight scene, which made the film seem to start out like an action movie, but segues into a master class performance driven drama by a truly legendary actor, Denzel Washington.

Opened: November 02, 2012 Runtime: 2 hr. 18 min. Genre: Drama Rated: R

NB: The music used when Whip is all jazzed on coke (with his shades on) is truly awesome! It sort of gives the character this cool persona that says - "chill bro, I got this".