Flight Movie Review Essay
A well-known filmmaker Robert Zemeckis got a reputation as a state of the art filmmaker in 1985 when he directed the comedic time travel “Back to The Future” film series. He went on to make Academy Award movies such as ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and “Forest Gump” (June 3, 2011). “Flight” stars a well-rounded acting veteran Denzel Washington. Washington plays a flight captain, Whip Whittaker, who is at the difficult time in his life battling drug and alcohol addiction as a flight captain. He becomes a hero and has to make a decision that can change his life. After reviewing the movie we can determine the reason for him becoming a hero, the "real" Whip, and my final review of the film.
In the movie “Flight”, the major character Denzel Washington presents a bad portrait of professionalism. He plays an airline flight captain addicted to money, sex, and alcohol. Whip decides to use cocaine to wake up after a night with little sleep to fly the next morning. That morning during the flight Whip meets intense turbulence. In fact, while at cruising altitude, Whip falls asleep leading the copilot to take over. Finally, a mechanical noise wakes him abruptly. Here is when we see the characteristic that appears to make Whip a hero. His confidence to land the plane during mechanical malfunction is very symbolic in terms of being seen as a hero. The standout heroic moment in the film is when the plane travels at high speeds straight for the ground and Whip purposely turns’ the plane upside down causing them to fly inverted. Whip chose to do this to slow down the speed of plane and he then turns’ the plane back over as they approach the ground and landing the plane right side up. This decision saved many lives. Now his addiction to drugs is deliberately mentioned several times in the film, but merely referred to as his "medicine". This can be seen as a contrast to the confident man we see as the hero figure who landed the plane under overwhelming and extreme conditions.
In the movie “Flight”, the major character Denzel Washington presents a bad portrait of professionalism. He plays an airline flight captain addicted to money, sex, and alcohol. Whip decides to use cocaine to wake up after a night with little sleep to fly the next morning. That morning during the flight Whip meets intense turbulence. In fact, while at cruising altitude, Whip falls asleep leading the copilot to take over. Finally, a mechanical noise wakes him abruptly. Here is when we see the characteristic that appears to make Whip a hero. His confidence to land the plane during mechanical malfunction is very symbolic in terms of being seen as a hero. The standout heroic moment in the film is when the plane travels at high speeds straight for the ground and Whip purposely turns’ the plane upside down causing them to fly inverted. Whip chose to do this to slow down the speed of plane and he then turns’ the plane back over as they approach the ground and landing the plane right side up. This decision saved many lives. Now his addiction to drugs is deliberately mentioned several times in the film, but merely referred to as his "medicine". This can be seen as a contrast to the confident man we see as the hero figure who landed the plane under overwhelming and extreme conditions.
References: http://latimes.com/movies/2011/06/robert-zemeckis-flight-back-to-the-future-roger-rabbit.html