Movie reviews: Flight
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, Whip is hailed as a hero — almost everyone on board the flight survives, due to Whip’s near-miraculous manoeuvres — but the audience is already aware that Whip was sleep-deprived, drunk and high on cocaine when he sat into the pilot’s seat.
Mechanical failure is blamed for the plane coming apart in mid-air, but to what extent is Whip complicit in the death of the four people who were killed? This question forms the moral context for Whip’s subsequent battle to overcome his addictions and take responsibility for his failures in life. However, fans of the traditional Hollywood happy-ever-after should be warned that Robert Zemeckis’s film is more interested in posing tough questions than it is in providing pat answers. Whip Whitaker is a charismatic character but he is by no means a conventionally likeable hero. A strong cast led by Don Cheadle and Bruce Greenwood provide expert support, but this gripping tale is shouldered by an Oscar-worthy performance from Washington as he creates a deliciously flawed character who generates as much revulsion as he does sympathy.
