I will just begin by saying that I am glad to see Gerard Butler again on the screen. It's been too long! I have always been a fan of his work and I enjoy all his movies with a happy heart. Butler always takes his roles seriously and performs them in a very convincing way and I feel he is underrated by many as an actor.
When I saw the trailer of this movie I was surprised and impressed because I didn't expect Butler to give us a 90s action-style movie which immediately reminded me of the movie, "Air Force One (1997)". I love that movie. Watching this movie left me with excitement and triumph that stayed with me long after the credits had rolled. "Yes he did it" Those were the last words I said when the movie ended.
Plane (2023) is an American action thriller movie that was distributed by Lionsgate and produced by Gerard Butler with four other people. This movie was directed by Jean-François Richet and it stars Gerard Butler as the lead actor alongside Mike Colter, Yoson An and Tony Goldwyn. The film revolves around Brodie (Butler), a pilot who had no choice but to land his plane on an unknown island for the safety of passengers.
The movie opens with Brodie (Butler) rushing to catch his flight after speaking with his daughter and promising to see her before the New Year's countdown. While boarding the plane he would be piloting, he meets his co-pilot Dele, who introduces himself. As passengers board, Brodie is informed that he will be flying a homicide suspect named Louis Gaspare, accompanied by an RCMP officer. After some initial reluctance, Brodie agrees to fly with the condition that both Gaspare and the officer remain isolated from the rest of the passengers.
Brodie pilots Trailblazer Airlines Flight 119 from Singapore to Honolulu, encountering difficult weather conditions along the way. As he checks on his passengers, the plane is struck by lightning, causing malfunctions that damage most of the engines and result in the death of the RCMP officer and one of the flight attendants. With the plane's condition deteriorating, Brodie is forced to make an emergency landing on an unknown island, later identified as Jolo Island in the South Philippines.
Following the successful landing, the Trailblazer tower loses communication with the flight, prompting the company's crisis manager, Scarsdale (played by Tony Goldwyn), to call on a private military strike team to rescue the passengers and locate the plane. However, the Philippine government refuses to allow involvement on the island, citing the presence of dangerous criminals, gangs, and killers. Meanwhile, Brodie and Gaspare venture into the island's interior to seek assistance or a means of contacting the Trailblazer tower.
Will Brodie be able to keep his passengers safe amidst the dangers of the island? Will Gaspare, the homicide suspect, remain cooperative or turn against the others? The only way to find out is by watching the movie.
My Review.
This movie was a fantastic, white-knuckle, and 90s action-style movie. It had me on the edge of my seat from the beginning till the end. Gerard Butler always finds a way to make me emotional why? As he did in the "Olympus Has Fallen" franchise. I was impressed with everything in this movie including the little details that were added. I consider this movie one of the most natural action films. There were no unrealistic scenes in it.
The plot and the script of this movie were written well so that it put the viewers right in the middle of all the scenes and made them experience the same emotional distress displayed by the actors. Nowadays, we see a lot of movies with more special effects due to more improved technologies, but this movie goes back to smooth storytelling while still building the suspense of the story. With a lot that was going on, the script and plot writers wrote the scripts in a pace that is smooth enough for the viewer to take it all in without being too overwhelmed. The ending was also very satisfying that left me with a feeling of triumph.
I commend the director on a job well done! Everything about this movie stands out, the cast, the plot, the action scenes, the stunts, the kills, the cinematography, the location, and the scene arrangements. He did a fantastic job of synchronizing all these to produce a 90-style action with incredible suspense, violence, and gore. At a point, I was beginning to think the kills were moving towards a horror slasher but there was a thin line that separated it.
The characters of this movie were portrayed excellently by the actors. They all behaved so naturally and raw. Butler as the pilot did an amazing job with his performance. His priority was to get to his daughter and take his passengers home even though it meant he gave up his life. He was resilient, persistent, and brave. He took risks that made him a hero to his passengers. Also, Colter's performance was admirable to me. It just reminds me that one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Even though he was labeled as a homicide suspect, he worked together with Butler to keep the passengers safe. He also risked his life for the passenger and in the end, he had to prioritize his freedom. His character was bold, brutal, and admirable.
Lastly, Goldwyn, who is known for his part in the Scandal TV series. His performance was fantastic, quick, swift, and straight to the point. He brought in the strike team that helped rescue the passengers and the strike team is one of the best I have seen in an action movie. I love them. They were smart, precise, and quick. They are the kind of team you call for retrieval, in and out!
The action scenes are so thrilling and tense that they would leave you shocked. The suspense and thrill were perfectly created. Violence was just right. The killings were brutal and relatable. Butler went haywire with his stunts and all I could say was, "Hey Butler, I see you, Hahah" Also the arms and amunitions used in the movie were brutal and damaging with just adds to the tension of the movie. CGI and cinematography were believable and amazing.
As I would always say, there is nothing that is perfect. The flaw I noticed in the movie were the passengers. They were just 18 in number and honestly that is the lightest flight I have ever seen in real life and in movies. But then I thought about this flaw deeply and concluded that if the passengers were more than 18, that natural or realistic feeling we got from them in the movie would be absent because there would be many people to concentrate on. So I say that this flaw was a necessity.
Rating and Recommendations.
Rating this movie, I will give it 4.7 out of 5 stars and I would recommend this movie to Gerlad Butler's fans and action/thriller movie lovers. If you have seen this movie yet, hurry now and watch it.
All images above are from the movie screenshots
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