MOVIE REVIEW - Flight

I always think that when Denzel Washington makes a movie, it's an essential trip to the cineplex.  And the new drama, Flight is out this week.  Denzel takes front and center again.

You may have caught that I said "drama."  And that's what Flight is.  I know that in the trailer, Flight looks more like an action flick, but it's not.  It's a drama, and a serious one to boot.   It also is nothing like it looks in advance.  But it's pretty darn good.

Flight is the story of "Whip" Whitaker (Washington).   Whip is an arrogant, self absorbed, vice-laden, egomaniac of a commercial airline pilot who works for a fictional southern passenger airline.  He is also a brilliant and gifted pilot.  While on a flight from Orlando to Atlanta, Whip with his amazing heroics saves roughly 100 passengers and crew on his flight after the plane begins to break apart about 30 minutes after takeoff.  It is certainly a miracle anyone survives.  Trouble is, even though he saves the day, Whip was drunk before and during the flight.

As the investigation ensues, it becomes clear that Whip is in fact a drunk and a drug addict.   He then goes on a series of strange binges with booze, drugs, and a very unhealthy relationship with a recovering drug addict Nicole (Kelly Reilly), who is about 20 years younger than him.   It then becomes clear that Flight is not in fact an action movie, but a story about a tragic figure and his battle with terrible vices.   And it's Denzel like you've never seen him.  And becomes the story of keeping Whip out of jail.  But will he continually get in his own way?

Washington is so good sometimes as fans we can take him for granted.  He always picks great and horizon expanding roles.   In fact, he seldom, if ever plays the same role twice.   He is highly convincing as a terrible drunk, and at times it's hard to watch.   It is hard to watch Washington play a horribly self-destructive addict.  You may actually find yourself flinching on occasion.  I've never seen him do this before, and he brings a great performance to a movie that needed his presence to pull it off.  That is what makes Flight so good. Seeing Denzel play a character this flawed.

Flight also has a greet supporting cast as big name actors generally line up behind Washington to be in a movie with him.  Don Cheadle, John Goodman, and Tamara Tunie are really good here as well.  Huge, and I mean huge kudos to Reilly who has a list of TV movies, and a few small roles in feature movies.  She is Nicole and is Whip's love interest, and girlfriend and really holds her own with Washington in scene after scene.   What a great breakout performance for her opposite a huge star.  She is very real as a woman on the edge, trying to put herself back together as well.

Flight is very dramatic, very intense most of the time, and very topical all of the time.   It is a good story, that's well written and well put together.    Hopefully this movie will not fall through the cracks, and be a real success.   It deserves a look or two.  It also has a very compelling, frantic and scary plane scare and crash scene that takes you right to the cockpit, and shows you the terror that would be a plane crash.   Very intense.

Flight.  Denzel as you've never seen him.   This is a very good movie, a great story and certainly worth a night at the movies.