(Written by Amanda Davidowski)
Gerard Butler has been in his fair share of action-packed movies, such as Olympus Has Fallen and 300. His newest, Plane, is no different from his past roles. When I first saw the trailer for this film, my expectations were pretty low. The title alone already put the idea in my head that this was not going to be good. To my surprise, Plane wasn’t as bad as I expected. I wouldn’t go as far as to say this film is amazing, but for anyone who is a fan of Butler or action movies, this is worth the watch.
Captain Brodie Torrance (Butler) is a pilot for Trailblazer airlines. While flying from Singapore to Tokyo, he passes through a storm and lightning strikes the plane. Torrance safely makes an emergency landing on an island in the Sulu Sea in the Philippines. Torrance befriends Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter), an accused murderer being transported by the FBI. While the two look for a phone to call for help, they discover that they may be in grave danger. A rebel group inhabits the island, taking the remaining passengers and crew members hostage. It becomes up to Torrance and Gaspare to save everyone.
Unbeknownst to Torrance, his call to his daughter has helped track down the plane. The action in the jungle is intercut with scenes from the airline’s headquarters tracking down the plane, and a few with Torrance’s family. A team is sent out to help recover the passengers, and aide Torrance and Gaspare. The action that ensues once things escalate is pretty standard for an action film. The fight sequences are solid, and it gets quite bloody to match up to its R-rating. With these factors in mind, it is not surprising that Plane is predictable. There aren’t any surprises, as everything unfolds exactly how one would anticipate.
Butler and Colter make a great action duo. Their characters seamlessly work together, and both learn from one another. There are some great kills from Torrance and Gaspare that show how much they have become in sync. Through their scenes together, we learn more about their characters. On the other hand, the passengers and side characters, Torrance’s family included, are all surface-level cliches. Even the rebels are just there to be the conflict. This isn’t necessarily bad, but does no favors in helping Plane become a memorable classic.
Plane as a whole is just mildly average. Torrance’s family raises his stakes, yet I never felt that he was in danger. Even Gaspare doesn’t have anything to lose, and there is minimal risk from the plot’s direction. Plane fails to accomplish anything special enough to make it stand out from other films in its genre. It simply exists as one’s stereotypical action film, and that’s it.
Plane lands in theaters January 13th.
