Directed By Jean-Francois Richet

Starring- Gerard Butler, Mike Colter, Yoson An

The Plot – Brodie Torrance (Butler) saves his 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 most of the passengers are taken hostage by dangerous rebels, the only person Torrance can count on for help is Louis Gaspare (Colter), an accused murderer who was being transported by the FBI. In order to rescue the passengers, Torrance will need Gaspare’s help, and will learn there’s more to Gaspare than meets the eye.

Rated R for violence and adult language

(1) Plane (2023 Movie) Official Trailer – Gerard Butler, Mike Colter, Yoson An – YouTube

POSITIVES

Sometimes a film can charm you with the indulgences of its rating, and in the case of “Plane”, an evidential homage to 90’s action cinema, Richet boldly accentuates the “R” in ruthlessness that drives the fun factor of his first film in five years. Because of such, this is an experience that knows exactly what it is, and exercises it with a complete lack of restraint on the visceral brutality that overwhelms the many intense action set pieces, with buckets of computer-generated blood and thunderous impact that execute a rampant personality to its appeal. Aside from this, and the fact that it has perhaps the laziest title in the history of cinema, Richet surprisingly exudes an abundance of effort in his ambitious direction, with a variety of unique camera angles and movements that artistically conjure something intergral to the dynamic of the many overpowering sequences. On the former, Jean-Francois steadies the camera in as many places as the imagination can properly elicit, keeping his audience firmly on the edge of their toes with unforeseen complexity in compositions, while the latter helps to exert a believability for physicality during fight sequences that incorporate clarity for shaking camera captivity to the already impressive long take edits. But not everything valuable about the film lends itself entirely to the artistic capacity, as Butler hands in another hearty turn as an action protagonist with so much more than brute and endless charisma to his dominating capacities. In a refreshing change of pace, Butler’s Brodie crafts a rare but compelling vulnerability to the character’s fearlessness that not only makes him ripe with humanity, but equally helps to emphasize the underlining stakes and desparation of the situation that consistently hang overhead but only remain palpable because of Butler’s commitment. Colter is fine enough for what little is asked from him in comparison to his role as Marvel’s Luke Cage, but it’s especially in his connective chemistry to Butler that his value is most vital to the integrity of the engagement, highlighting a militia in the jungle action flick with a blossoming bromance that permeates effortlessly without downright soiling the mood of the film’s tension-fueled tonal capacity.

NEGATIVES

What ultimately keeps “Plane” from reaching the extent of its 102 minute destination are a few creative choices that nearly clip its wings from even reaching a mediocre landing. Most compromising to this sentiment are a series of boardroom scenes trying to navigate this aircraft back home, with little to no communication with Butler along the way. For my money, these scenes added very little benefit to the engagement, beyond echoing what we’ve already established in the previous scene, eviscerating much of the isolation factor and precise pacing that would be a lot better without its abrupt intrusion every fifteen minutes or so. If this happened once or twice, it would be a lot easier to forgive, but it soon becomes a drinking game of sorts by the midway point, in that it immediately always follows something big happening in the foreground of the narrative, feeling like unnecessary padding to hold the hand of its audience who now don’t even have to pay attention to follow along. In addition to this, the script is ambushed by a barrage of plot holes and conveniences so obvious and apparent that they frequently broke my investment to the plight of the many conflicts. If the film’s tone mirrored something silly and over the top, then I could easier forgive these insanely asinine instances, but they stand out for all of the wrong reasons in a gut-wrenching action flick, affording obvious leaps in logic that even ten seconds of thought could easily disarm. Finally, while there are problems occasionally with greenscreen backdrops or computer-generated special effects, the biggest hiccup of production to me easily went to the scenes involving Brodie talking to his daughter, with some of the most obvious aspects of post-production reshoots stalling the continuity of the engagement. If Butler’s hair being noticeably shorter isn’t enough, the immense differences in cinematography styles certainly convey a visual lack of consistency within the confines of the entirety of the film surrounding it, feeling like deleted scenes that were repurposed and redistributed somewhere else than initially intended.

OVERALL

“Plane” takes on turbulence with a few untimely misfires under the hood that occasionally stall its intended arrival. Even still, it’s an authentically rich and brutally fun high stakes thriller that earns every mile of its coveted R-rating, with a humbly human turn from Butler piloting the craft that keeps its wings above the clouds.

My Grade: 6/10 or C