Plane (2022) * * *

 

Directed by:  Jean-Francois Richet

Starring:  Gerard Bulter, Mike Colter, Yoson An, Tony Goldwyn, Paul Ben-Victor, Daniella Pineda, Evan Dane Taylor

Plane involves us in the moment and contains spectacular airplane crash sequences followed by tense action and a dogged, determined performance by Gerard Butler, whose captain Brodie Torrance goes above and beyond to ensure the safety of his passengers.   Writing this review roughly ten days after I saw the movie, I'm foggy on the details, but this is that type of movie.   To paraphrase Roger Ebert in his famed review of The Longest Yard (2005), one might view Plane the same as one might think about when drinking a cup of coffee.  It's absorbing now, but little discussed three weeks later.

Plane opens in Singapore, where Captain Torrance greets his crew and small group of passengers on a New Year's flight to Japan.  He is a hands-on pilot, the kind of guy who personally subdues unruly passengers with sleeper holds.   More on that later.   Despite storm warnings, Brodie is ordered to take off by his penny-pinching boss and soon after the plane is struck by lightning and forced to crash land on a remote Pacific Island.   This sequence is frightening enough to swear some off of air travel or give pause somewhat when booking reservations.

As if crashing on an island without cell phone or radio service with no food or water in sight isn't bad enough, the island is inhabited by a Filipino militia leader (Taylor) who is not above killing or kidnapping the hostages for ransom.  To make matters worse, or possibly better depending on how you look at it, one of the passengers is a captured fugitive named Gaspare (Colter) who was being transported by an FBI escort on murder charges.   Will Brodie team up with Gaspare, who insists he is innocent, and take on the gun-toting villains?   The trailers gave it away that they did, but you wouldn't need a trailer to see that development coming.  

Movies like Plane can only be judged on whether they deliver on the goods.  It keeps us engaged in the outcome and maintains a crisp energy.   I'm sure if the plot was given the slightest thought, there would be holes to poke in it.  Plane keeps us caring enough to not have to take that step.