'Flight'
The banana boat's a-coming for Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan as they prepare for liftoff with Robert Zemeckis's 2012 drama, 'Flight,' starring Denzel Washington, Kelly Reilly, Don Cheadle, and John Goodman.
Cast
Denzel Washington as Captain Whip Whitaker
Kelly Reilly as Nicole
Don Cheadle as Hugh Lang
Bruce Greenwood as Charlie Anderson
John Goodman as Harling Mays
Melissa Leo as Ellen Block
Nadine Velazquez as Katerina
James Badge Dale as Cancer Patient
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Written by: John Gatins
Notes
- Budget of $31 million, grossed $161.8 million. Nominated for Best Actor (Denzel) and Best Original Screenplay.
- First Rewatchables taping of 2024. Bill considers this one of his favorite movies of the last 15 years – it grew on him like an album where you discover more songs over time.
- Loosely inspired by the 2000 crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261, caused by a broken jackscrew. No survivors. They were able to fly the plane inverted near the end but it didn't work.
- Bill argues Flight is Denzel's last great performance. CR agrees nothing since has been better, with a possible exception for Fences.
- The addiction community considers this one of the best movies ever about addiction, pointing to the hotel minibar scene as the quintessential moment.
- Zemeckis has 1,600 hours of flight experience, which may explain why he filmed two of the best plane crashes ever (this and 'Cast Away').
- Denzel's tradition: before filming bed scenes, he takes the actress out to dinner. The opening nude scene with Nadine Velazquez was the first scene they shot.
- Flight was Zemeckis's return to live action after years of animated films (Polar Express, Beowulf, A Christmas Carol).
- The movie uses both 'Sympathy for the Devil' AND 'Gimme Shelter' – the only movie to double down on both Rolling Stones standards.
- Denzel sets the alarm for 7:14 – 2 Chronicles 7:14: 'If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray...'
- In real life, John Goodman has been sober since 2007.
- CR's wild theory: Nick and Whip are dead the entire movie. After the plane inverts and flies over the hotel, Whip crashes into a field of white-robed church congregants (angels). James Badge Dale's cancer patient is an apparition. Goodman is the devil on Whip's shoulder.
- Van had aviophobia for 11-12 years and this movie actually helped him get over it.
Categories
Quote from Rog's review:
“Not often does a movie character make such a harrowing personal journey that keeps us in deep sympathy all the way.”
Ebert gave it 4 stars, in his top 5 of the year. Called it 'nearly flawless' and said Denzel's performance was 'brave and one of his very best.'
- Bill: The hotel minibar sequence through John Goodman's arrival – finding the second room, the connecting door jiggling, opening the minibar, Cheadle and Greenwood discovering him drunk, then Goodman's cocaine rescue. Somehow better than the plane crash itself.
- CR: The nine-minute plane crash.
- Van: The opening scene with Nadine Velazquez. 'It's literally the most rewatchable scene. I don't care what you got.'
- The first 30 minutes of the movie.
- Smoking Denzel – 'one of our great movie smokers,' part of 'Mount Smokemore.'
- Kelly Reilly's femme fatale quality and her later success as Beth in Yellowstone.
- The staging of the plane crash as one of the last great seemingly practical special effects set pieces.
- Fake airline name 'South Jet' – sounds like Spirit Airlines for the South, an important context clue that Whip's career has declined.
- Zemeckis goes 'chalk' with the music choices. CR: 'The most generic soundtrack' – Under the Bridge, Sweet Jane, Sympathy for the Devil, Gimme Shelter are all too on-the-nose.
- The Kelly Reilly/Denzel romance subplot doesn't fully work – missing one great memorable scene together.
- Stroke mags – 'those might be the last three stroke bags.'
Under the Bridge (RHCP) during Kelly Reilly's relapse. Sympathy for the Devil for Goodman's first appearance. Gimme Shelter for Denzel leaving the hospital. CR thinks the soundtrack is too on-the-nose.
- Nadine Velazquez: Yes.
- Zemeckis plane crashes: Yes – better than Cast Away's.
- Hotel minibars: Yes – best use of a hotel minibar in a movie scene.
- Denzel: No (has Malcolm X, 'Training Day').
- Addiction movies: Leaving Las Vegas gets the nod over this.
- Kelly Reilly beat out Olivia Wilde and Dominique McElligott for the role.
- Only DiCaprio among contemporaries could play Whip. Hanks wouldn't do it, Cruise wouldn't do it.
John Goodman as Harling Mays – only in three scenes but steals the movie. 'Comes in, hits three threes, comes back in later, scores 12 points in two minutes.'
The Kelly Reilly subplot – missing one great memorable scene between her and Denzel. The romance doesn't quite land.
- Inspired by Alaska Airlines Flight 261 (2000), caused by a broken jackscrew.
- Zemeckis has 1,600 hours of flight experience.
- In real life, John Goodman is sober since 2007.
- Denzel's alarm reads 7:14 – a reference to 2 Chronicles 7:14.
- The airline pilot community was pissed about the movie.
- Nobody notices Whip is 0.24 drunk waltzing onto the plane.
- The adjoining hotel room door should have been locked; the minibar should have been removed.
- The obscene amount of empty bottles in the morning – 'Is he Andre the Giant?' Maybe 20-30 bottles.
- Why didn't they just postpone the hearing and say he had food poisoning?
Bill makes a case for the screenplay (John Gatins): 'About as well written of a screenplay as we're getting the last 15 years.'
Sometimes you have to crash a jet liner to realize you should stop drinking.
Bill: 'Cast Away'. CR: Fearless.