After the man who scored the greatest goal in World Cup history (Archie Gemmell), Paisley’s finsest Gerard Butler returns doing what he does best…saving people.
‘The Crash was only the beginning’, fasten your seatbelts, Plane takes to the cinematic skies and get ready to brace for impact.
Directed by French director Jean–François Richet he’ll be known widely for the Jacques Meserine biopic crime thriller Meserine: Killer Instinct and Meserine: Public Enemy Number 1 which star Vincent Cassel as the titular character. Richet also directed the 2005 Assault On Precinct 13 remake which had Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne and Gabriel Byrne.
In Plane Gerard Buttler is pilot Brodie Torrence who shockingly is actually Scottish not American. Though he sounds like that hybrid mix of American and Scottish he uses regularly uses in his film
He’s the captain of Trailblazer Airlines flight from Singapore to Tokyo, Japan. It’s Hogmany, 31st December and Brodie is determined make use of the time zones to be with his daughter on the Hawaiian island of Maui. His wife sadly died a few years previously and more reason to get home.
As they plane the route, his employer refuses to pay the extra money for fuel to dodge a dangerous approaching weather forcing to take the route straight through it.
There is only about 14 people onboard including one passenger ex-French Foreign Legion soldier Louis Gaspare played by Marvel’s Luke Cage Mike Coulter who is now been escorted for a murder charge.
The plane takes off through the storm and gets hit with violent turbulence. This forces Captain Torrence to force land his plane on a Filipino Island of Jolo. A lawless island ran by the iron fist of separatists and the Filipino Army wont step foot on.
At this point Brodie and Gaspare go on search of find a phone so they can contact someone at Trailblazer Airlines. They return only to find that the separatists have now taken the rest of the crew and passengers hostage, threaten to kill them.
Word gets back to the airline and the man who helps get the airline out of scandal, played by Tony Goldwyn (the man who killed Patrick Swayze in Ghost) to make sure the airline is interested in helping the people than getting hit by a lawsuit.
Let’s not kid ourselves we know what we’re getting with Plane. Very much popcorn fodder does exactly what’s on the tin. On paper this should be another generic action flick, we’ll forget about. It rises above the middling paint by numbers film.
Keeping the plot simple, not complicating things. Hitting you with enough visceral thrills to keep you interested maybe even intrigued.
Same can be said about the militia running the island. Keeping them nameless and drip-feeding us with little tidbits of info seen via a video let us know they are not to be messed with.
We know about Gaspere and what he done before he was captured. What they keep a mystery is what murderous act did he do? As for Brodie Torrence himself you can clearly see he had a different life before he was a commercial pilot in a profile check by Goldwyn’s character. Let’s just say he knows how to handle himself.
As for the ending it’s absolute bonkers.
Plane is dumb fun that is perfect for that Friday night escapism.
★★★
Action, Thriller | USA, 2023 | 15 | Cinema | 27th January 2023 (UK) | Lionsgate Films | Dir. Jean-François Richet | Gerard Butler, Mike Colter, Tony Goldwyn, Daniella Pineda, Yoson An
Chronicles in film 
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