Review of Plane (2023) by Markhreviews — 08 Feb 2023

Gerard Butler’s an interesting guy. He studied law at the University of Glasgow, but was reportedly fired from his first law firm one week after getting his law license. After establishing himself as an actor, Butler created a production company (it’s now called G-Base Productions) which bankrolls all of his movies. The company’s first commercial success was “Olympus Has Fallen.” It was soon followed by “London Has Fallen” and “Angel Has Fallen.” The company has no known relationship with Life Alert.

G-Base’s current offering is “Plane.” Like the movie’s title, the film is a stripped-down, bare bones action film. There are no elaborate set pieces. There’s no extraneous dialogue. The main character has no love interest. Turns out, it’s satisfyingly self-sufficient.

Main character a pilot. Plane flies into storm. Plane loses power. Beverage service discontinued. Plane crash-lands in jungle. Good news: plane intact, passengers survive. Bad news: island overrun by ruthless rebel militia. Passengers captured. Pilot must rescue passengers. Entertainingly predictable action ensues.

There’s absolutely nothing new here. The story centers on two main characters. Veteran Captain Brodie Torrance (Butler) is flying for a low-rent airline after being caught on video choking out an unruly passenger. He is square-jawed, stoic, but also prone to introspection, of course in a totally manly way. When trying to rescue the passengers, Brodie is led/helped by Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter – “Jessica Jones,” title role in “Luke Cage”). In a surprising development, Gaspare is not a mustache-twirling Frenchman, but a formidable-looking, manacled prisoner convicted of capital murder who once served in the French Foreign Legion. Mon dieu. Both actors are excellent.

There’s something refreshing about a movie willing to just do simple things well. Here, the creative team is self-confident enough to tell a story without diversion, subterfuge or distracting subplots and to still believe their effort will satisfy the audience. In other words, welcome to the 1990s. Think of “Plane” as furthering the tradition of “Con Air” and “Air Force One.”.

That’s not to say the finished product is flawless. At one point, Brodie voluntarily goes to the captors and offers himself in place of the captured passengers. It’s a little too messianic. But perhaps this airline has created a frequent flyer program where loyalty works both ways.

If you’re looking for two hours of pleasant diversion, this film is strongly recommended. It’s ideal for the moviegoer who found “Top Gun: Maverick” a little too complicated.