Explosive
Summary
Plane may not pack many surprises but it has moments of nail-biting tension, R-rated violence and a brisk runtime with two awesome leads who I would love to see together again in future action pictures.
Plot: Pilot Brodie Torrance saves passengers from a lightning strike by making a risky landing on a war-torn island — only to find that surviving the landing was just the beginning. When dangerous rebels take most of the passengers hostage, the only person Torrance can count on for help is Louis Gaspare, an accused murderer who was being transported by the FBI.
Review: I was going to review Plane when it hit 4K but as it’s come to Digital early, and I was at a loose end this weekend I figured I would check it out and give my own thoughts on the movie.
Gerard Butler has been making a name for himself over the years as a new action star especially with the Has Fallen franchise and the trailers for this movie promised that Plane would be another tension-fueled action picture to add to his resume. For this viewer it didn’t disappoint and made for a taut and action-packed hour and 45 minutes. Butler maintains his Scottish accent which is awesome so it’s always nice to have a fellow Scot to root for.
His character Brodie Torrance is a pilot who has to land a plane after it’s struck by lightning, but they end up on an island with a lot of hostiles who kidnap the passengers for ransom. Brodie is never sure if he can trust convict Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter) but knows he can’t help his passengers alone.
My biggest take away from Plane is that I need to see more action pictures with Mike Colter in the lead as he not only looks the part, but he is a believable badass while also remaining sympathetic. In Plane he plays a convicted murderer but we never really find out the details other than he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The film doesn’t have much in the way of surprises, but the final 30 minutes is practically one epic shoot-out, and we also get some brutal kills involving a sledgehammer. We don’t get too many R-rated action movies on the big screen these days and I regret not seeing this in the cinema as I imagine it would have been even more intense. If you get the chance, I would try to check this out as it feels like the kind of old-school action picture we rarely see these days.
There is only one hand to hand fight scene but it’s one of the highlights and feels very real and not overly choreographed. I like how Brodie isn’t all gung-ho afterwards and is shocked at having to kill someone making him feel like a real human being.
The villains aren’t all that memorable but they are hateful enough that we look forward to them getting their comeuppance and Plane doesn’t disappoint.
Overall, Plane was far better than I expected and the kind of old-fashioned action picture we don’t see much anymore. Butler and Colter make for engaging leads, it’s well paced, filled with tension and has a decent bodycount making it well worth checking out.