The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

After playing around with stop-motion pictures for almost a decade, Robert Zemeckis has finally returned to live-action filmmaking.  The director’s glowing resume speaks for itself; films such as Forrest Gump (1994) and Cast Away (2000) earned the awards and all-around admiration.  Best-known for inspiring some of the most memorable performances and compelling storytelling, the director’s work is always highly anticipated.

His latest feature, Flight, is yet another showcase of a brilliant performance. Written by John Gatins and led by Denzel Washington – whose undeniable force and talent overpower the story’s little blunders – Flight is a bold and moving piece of entertainment.

The film opens up with an introduction of Captain Whip Whittaker (Washington) waking up in a hotel room with his flight attendant, Katarina Marquez (Velazquez,) by his side. Still liquored up from the night before, Captain Whip is in bad need of a cocaine bump in order to level him out before boarding the South Jet flight 227 to Atlanta.  It’s just another day at the office for the troubled Captain.  After pulling through the flight’s turbulent take-off, Captain Whip takes a couple of swigs of vodka – taken from the in-flight’s mini bar –  before settling down in the cockpit for a much-needed nap.

Things quickly take a turn for the worst when a mechanical failure strikes. The plane, now thirty-thousand feet off the ground, plummets into a nosedive forcing the pilot to act on pure instinct; Whip flies the plane inverted and successfully manages to crash-land, saving all but six lives.  Proclaimed a national hero, Captain Whip awakes in a hospital bed before being visited by close friend and Pilot’s Union rep, Charlie (Greenwood), along with the investigating crew looking to get more details on the crash. 

A toxicology report proves to be only the beginning of Whip’s troubles and hotshot-lawyer, Hugh Lang (Cheadle), is called in. Whip finds comfort in rehabbing junkie, Nicole (Reilly), whom he meets in the hospital’s stairways when sneaking out for a smoke.  Before long, Flight steers its wings into a completely different direction.  Moving away from the action, the audience gets transported into a world of a man whose addiction is accompanied by a strong sense of denial; a disturbing account and deep character-study which questions morality and self-awareness.

Flight‘s best moments lie in the first twenty minutes; the cinematic plane crash carries so much terror that will for sure haunt many future travellers. Action-packed sequences aside, it’s Washington’s outstanding and unflappable coolness that gets the audience gripped.  Even when the script goes slightly off-course – and Flight‘s dubious pacing occasionally staggers the story – it’s thanks to Washington that things are quickly reeled back in.

This is easily one of Washington’s best turns since Training Day. His character, although sometimes difficult to comprehend, digs deep.  He is dominant, charming and outright fantastic in the role of a substance-abusing pilot.  The rest of the supporting cast manages to withstand Washington’s supremacy; Cheadle and Greenwood, as the only two people in Washington’s corner, are the most noteworthy.  Reilly, in the role of a heroin-addict trying to regain control of her life, is equally notable, while, Goodman brings some much needed comic-relief as her best friend and drug-dealer.

Even with the little slip-ups, the story’s leading man makes Flight worthy of its place on the big-screen.