Flight 4/10
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Denzel Washington, Nadine Velazquez, Don Cheadle
Plot: a flight is saved by a pilot and an investigation unveils the truth.
Robert Zemeckis has produced some ‘classics’ during his career; Forest Gump and Cast Away are among them. Reviewers have classed these as Zemeckis’ career highlights – I would, however, completely disagree. Zemeckis’ ten year development of motion-capture has created the likes of The Polar Express, Beowulf and A Christmas Carol. Both The Polar Express and A Christmas Carol are visually stunning, well-paced and thrilling. Flight is Zemeckis’ return to live-action, which is a transition that fails.
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Denzel Washington, Nadine Velazquez, Don Cheadle
Plot: a flight is saved by a pilot and an investigation unveils the truth.
Robert Zemeckis has produced some ‘classics’ during his career; Forest Gump and Cast Away are among them. Reviewers have classed these as Zemeckis’ career highlights – I would, however, completely disagree. Zemeckis’ ten year development of motion-capture has created the likes of The Polar Express, Beowulf and A Christmas Carol. Both The Polar Express and A Christmas Carol are visually stunning, well-paced and thrilling. Flight is Zemeckis’ return to live-action, which is a transition that fails.
Flight is a film which, as many are, marketed to the wrong audience. The ‘main event’ seems to be the crash sequence at the beginning of the film; people flying, screaming children and utter carnage ensue within a ten minute sequence, which is utterly compelling – Zemeckis at his best. As soon as the gigantic sequence finishes (a particular moment in which the plane flips upside down is phenomenally done), the film steadily declines.
Unfortunately, Flight becomes a terribly slow drama; a particular sequence in which Denzel Washington is pacing his hotel room goes on for far too long, and the dialogue scenes are tiresome throughout. Any scene which involves the talented and mostly funny John Goodman is ruined by an overly heavy script that is neither fun nor compelling. Washington’s performance is on this occasion uninspiring; the drunk scenes are convincing yet lack of emotion and the persistent staring isn’t enough to revive the performance. Kelly Reilly is the stand-out of the entire film; whilst her performance isn’t award-worthy, her addictions and antics add at least a little more to this film.
In Conclusion: Flight is 40 minutes too long; its script is dull and its finale uninteresting. A phenomenally realistic opening sequence shows just how Zemeckis entertains his audience – by thrilling! Let’s just hope Zemeckis returns to motion-capture as soon as possible.
No comments:
Post a Comment