Plane Movie Review

Plane (2023)

Rent Plane on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Charles Cumming and J.P. Davis (screenplay by), Charles Cumming (story by)
Directed by: Jean-François Richet
Starring: Gerard Butler, Mike Colter, Tony Goldwyn, Paul Ben-Victor
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
A pilot finds himself caught in a war zone after he's forced to land his commercial aircraft during a terrible storm.

Verdict
I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed this simple concept. Nearly all scenes with the plane are intense, and this movie does a great job balancing action and story. While it can feel a bit typical, all the pieces come together well. It's not innovative, but it is very effective. This is an action movie that knows the assignment and doesn't try to do more than necessary.
Watch It.

Review
Gerard Butler keeps busy. He's often playing an action hero like in this movie, Greenland, or the Has Fallen series. 300 might be his most well-known movie, but he's also done duds like Geostorm.

It's an effective title. The proposed sequel will be "Ship."

Gerard Butler plays Brodie

This begins with a rather simple setup; a young copilot, the veteran pilot Brodie (Gerard Butler), a mostly empty plane, a fugitive transfer, and a pending storm. It has all the makings of an action movie. The corporate desk jockey told them prior to the flight to fly through the storm to save money on fuel despite Brodie's objections. That looks like a bad idea when the hit extremely turbulent weather and can't fly above the storm. This sets up the plot very well, even giving Brodie stakes with a daughter he's supposed to meet. We know where this will go, and that's completely fine. This movie isn't trying to reinvent the genre, and it doesn't need to. It's to the point and very effective.

CGI really helps make a movie like this. The plane scenes are wild and scary, creating a great introduction for the main plot. The storm requires the plane to land immediately, and the landing is nothing short of a miracle. The plane is lost with no communication.

Mike Colter, Gerard Butler play Gaspare, Brodie

Brodie must save the passengers and get help of course, because he's the main character. He teams up with the fugitive Gaspare (Mike Colter) to find help. The prisoner everyone feared is now the one saving them.

I do wonder if this is how airlines work when a plane is lost. Planes don't get lost often often, but when they do are mercenaries hired? I suppose if the plane goes down in the middle of a bunch of terrorist they are.

The movie is intense. Brodie might be the first guy to crash land the same plane twice. He also has to take on terrorists, free hostages, and help mercenaries. It's everything you'd want from an action movie.