Denzel Washington's latest flick 'Flight', sees him star as pilot Whip Whitacker, a quintessential anti hero, who crash lands a plane, managing to save almost everyone on board, but is later discovered to have been under the influence of a dangerous amount of alcohol. His union then sends him Don Cheadle's character Hugh Lang to fight his case. Amidst this thriller-esque plot, lies a sentimental and tortured undertone, in which Whitacker's strained relationships with his son and late-father are examined. The plot sounds great, but what are the reviewers saying?
Overall, everyone seems to be loving it, with particular high praise for Denzels' role, as well as the rejoice of director Robert Zemeckis returning to live action cinema, rather than the motion-capture cinematography that he had experimented with in movies such as Beowolf. USA Today says "Though the pilot is frustratingly self-destructive, the audience roots for him, which is a testament to Washington's nuanced performance." Rolling Stone praises the film's subtleties as well: "You might bitch that Flight levels off after its shocking, soaring start. But you'd be missing the point of an exceptional entertainment that Zemeckis shades into something quietly devastating." Movieline, however, was less impressed and referred to the "forced spirituality" of it, and considers the ending 'contrived'. The LA Times seems to sum-up the pros and cons of the film in their review: "[Washington's] ability to convey the agony of a soul in torment never lets us down, even if the film that surrounds him never rises to his heights".
Despite the few negative comments, these are all counteracted by brilliant performances and good cinematography. If you want to check Flight out you wont have long to wait as it'll be released October 14th 2012 (UK) and then November 2nd in the US.
