Denzel Rocks the Plane in Flight

Guilty, Guilty of squeezing as many Oscar flicks into the week leading up to the show as possible. I don’t think this comes as a surprise to many, but wanted you all to know I’ve reached the first step of recovery – admission.

Last week, Wednesday through Friday, I conquered The Sessions, The Invisible War, (part of) How to Survive a Plague and Flight. All thoughts and reviews to come, but I have to give props to DW’s Oscar nom first.

I’ll lead with this – I LOVE watching Denzel Washington movies. Hands down, they never disappoint. They deliver on the action, the suspense and an impressive amount of emotional rides. But, BUT I almost NEVER feel compelled to see them in the movie theatre. To be honest, they all run together, despite how much I enjoy each individual experience. He’s always dodging gunfire, speaking different languages and coming off as both good guy and bad guy levels of bad ass.

Well, Flight was no different in my opinion. That is, my opinion back in November when it came out. Looked good, looked action-packed and looked forward to renting it via Netflix whenever the DVD came to life. Until it was nominated for an Oscar! Whoa! Really? Staple superhero gets an Academy nod for one of his stereotypical performances? (Albeit great). Was it just a nod for consistency? A lack of anything that stand-out? Or I was I sorely mistaken for not making a bigger effort to support Denz at the box office?

Either way. Straight to Redbox we went. It wasn’t probably the most ideal story to watch on Valentine’s Day, but well worth the sentimental sacrifice. Denzel was incredible (again, in my opinion, as usual), but this storyline had the candidness of something based on a true story. Something lived through by lucky souls at some point before. I don’t want to put this on the same level as Shawshank, but it is that kind of story. Genuine. Heart breaking. But, ohhh so good!

Mary Watson does a great job leaving her housewife duties behind to play the tagalong misfit and even though her character’s storyline isn’t the most compelling, the way her relationship reflects Denz’s pilot’s ability to love himself so much less than he loves others reveals a powerful subplot that I believe carries this film’s thematic.

In closing, you’ve got to see it. You’ve just got to. If not for Denzel and his statuette potential, for the ruckus of a comic relief played by John Goodman. Or, for the thrill of watching a pilot fly and land a plane upside down. (Of course, this sparks new conversation wondering if it could REALLY happen in real life – It didn’t, FYI, in the Alaska flight this story was inspired by… they all died).