Plane

Not a silly drama at all compared to the flush rubbish Butler usually works on. You can see that it was made by a skilled Frenchman, so the clichés that are typical of action movies made by Hollywood don't offend you and it also has that nice old-world vibe of movies from a few decades back. There's not really that much action, and when there is, it's nice and raw (sniper!) and with good sound. It is really good. (11/02/2023)

This movie had everything I expect from a lousy B-movie: New Year's, a loving family, an airplane, bad weather, a dangerous passenger, and (although I hate to say this) Gerard Butler. My surprise was even greater (and more pleasant) when I realized that the creators took a completely different path than I expected and showed me that an action film can be made from clichéd ingredients that I will find captivating and hilarious despite my skepticism. Although I have some reservations about the takeoffs and landings of jet transport aircraft on unpaved surfaces, this combination of Black Hawk Down and Far Cry 3 had an uncomplicated plot and decent action. The creators had enough sense not to let the gentleman of a certain age (but still fit) run around the jungle alone and gave him a quality partner. I'm not saying it was the best movie of all time, but I enjoyed it. Gerard Butler and Mike Colter worked together brilliantly. Daniella Pineda was an excellent lead stewardess, so I had no reason to go below four stars. It was undemanding but entertaining (at least for me). / Lesson learned: The movie shows that it's possible to take off in an airplane and land on a scooter. (05/04/2023)

An old-fashioned action flick that relies on an interesting, albeit B-movie script and a skilled director. Jean-François Richet knows his craft, and Gerard Butler and Mike Colter have no trouble watching his back. The jungle running and contact bloody fights are crowned by a final shootout with a wonderful sniping with Filipinos flying a good three metres over the top of a car. Awesome! (22/12/2023)

In the context of formulaic and naïve action movies starring Gerard Butler, Plane is pleasantly refreshing thanks to the exotic Asian setting and the bad guys who are reminiscent of the villains in Rambo movies. The captain’s responsibility for his passengers and his experience in the military, which is apparent in his way with a machine gun, are also nice. A buddy motif, long-distance phone calls with his daughter and so on. However, the effects with the plane’s crash landing are mediocre. (25/02/2023)

An amazing B-movie action ride with and an excellent Butler! The skilful French director Jean-François Richet hasn't made a bad film for me yet, I even have his Mesrine: Killer Instinct among my favourites, and Plane is such a guilty pleasure that it meets most of my requirements. It benefits from an appealing premise that is perfect for a proper action film. It's part disaster plane survival and part fight for your life in hostile territory with the Philippine Guerillas, and I really enjoy that. Gerard Butler plays exactly the leading charismatic likeable guy he is wont to do here (he even drops a decent wisecrack here and there), and Mike Colter, who plays the prisoner-killer aboard the plane, is excellent. Butler, of course, has no choice but to work with the prisoner to get rid of the greater evil. A very unconventional team-up that works great all round. Colter is also a member of the French Legion, so he is in his element, and his experience gives him the edge over everyone. The action is excellent, there's only one fight, but it's very intense, but the shootouts are properly bloody and nicely shot, (there was even some awesome jungle “Splinter Cell” stealth action!) and sniper action has never been more impressive than here. The airplane scenes were also nice, with no shortage of dense atmosphere and more than solid build-up in places. There's absolutely no sparing of tension throughout the film and the bad guys are excellent, especially the two central scumbags, you can respect the hell out of them. I must also praise the scenes where they search for the missing plane. Tony Goldwyn gives a great performance, there's some solid dialogue and I enjoyed a lot of the behind the scenes stuff. For me, this is definitely a film I'll happily watch again due to its briskness, fun, action and the insane adrenaline rush it pours. My quibbles are mostly directed to the occasionally dodgy stunts and it's a shame there wasn't some deeper investigative line about the prisoner at the end. But regardless, great fun and satisfaction. 85%. (06/02/2023)