Plane Review: Gerard Butler, Mike Colter's survival film is far-fetched but entertaining

Title: Plane

Director: Jean-Francois Richet

Cast: Gerard Butler, Mike Colter, Yoson An, Daniella Pineda, Paul Ben-Victor, Remi Adeleke, Joey Slotnick, Evan Dane Taylor, Claro de los Reyes, Tony Goldwyn

Where: In theatres near you

Rating: **1/2

Gerard Butler has always played a maverick hero; in this survival film, he is no different.

He is Brodie Torrance, a former Royal Air Force Pilot who is now the captain of Trailblazer Flight 119, the titular plane whose New Year’s Run is from Singapore to Tokyo.

Like its mundane title, this fictionalised drama which is extremely process-oriented begins on a measured note with a borderline cinema verité look that promises drama in the air and more. The film effectively reflects the ethos of its Director, Jean-Francois Richet’s forthright and functional but pulpy action film formula.

It’s New Year’s Eve, a hurried conversation between Torrance and his daughter Daniella (Haleigh Hekking) as he assures her that he would make it in time- for the new year. This, added with the airline management pushing the flight through some serious-weather-conversion course over the South China Seas to economise fuel, and the presence of Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter), a handcuffed prisoner extradited to the US for a murder charge escorted by an armed Marshal on board. The tension mounts as we tighten our seat belts expectantly.

And right enough, the aircraft moves through a turbulent patch. A lightning strike cuts the plane’s power, and the aircraft is forced to crash land on a remote island in the Philippine archipelago, which they do miraculously.

It is not long after, the captain realises that the air marshal escorting the murderer and one of his crew is dead.

The surviving crew and passengers are now left radio-less and are forced to ration their food. So, the captain along with Gaspare, ventures into the jungle for help only to realise that they have landed in a hostage situation. How they come out of this sticky situation forms a major crux of the narrative.

The plot is fast-paced and packed with absurd situations. Despite containing all the tropes of a B-movie action drama, the film does not appear banal. Also, while most of the supporting cast as stereotypical characters - appear to be perfunctory in their disposition, it is the Butler–Colter on-screen chemistry that keeps you hooked and pining for more. There is plenty of texture in their taut and sweaty performances.

The action sequences and violent mayhem are goofy yet genuinely exciting, especially when some of the violence is presented off-screen by choice. They are realistically and impressively orchestrated, but its militant separatists appear to be two-dimensional video game henchmen who are disposed of stereotypically.

Overall, this straight-to-the-point thriller, despite not having a strong emotional hook, will not leave you weary and dejected.