Plane: Film Review
Action movies are what Gerard Butler does best so you can rest assured you’re in safe hands with his latest movie Plane.
He plays Captain Brodie Torrance, a pilot who used to be in RAF. Torrance is manning a commercial flight between Singapore and Japan when his aircraft encounters severe weather and he loses his comms and navigation systems over the South China Sea. He is forced to land the aeroplane on Jolo Island in the Philippines – which is run by separatists and militia who take foreigners hostage. Torrance must team up with a prisoner on the flight – Louis (Mike Colter) – to protect the passengers and crew and get home.
This film is very silly, even though the actors commit to the story and take it quite seriously. You just have to roll with each turn of events and suspend your disbelief otherwise you’ll ruin your enjoyment. Plane feels like a ’90s B-movie and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’m just impressed that it’s getting a cinema release as this type of action-thriller generally goes to streaming these days.
The script is not good but we didn’t come to a Gerard Butler action movie expecting top-drawer dialogue, did we? This is all about the action and you certainly get a lot of it. A lot. I must admit that I zoned out at times because there’s only so much punching and gunfire I can take before my brain has enough. The action is more brutal than I expected so be prepared to make audible reaction sounds!
Butler has lived in America and played American characters for so long that he doesn’t sound very Scottish anymore. Torrance is supposed to be Scottish but the twang comes and goes constantly. Putting accent issues aside, he is as dependable as ever as the no-nonsense action man. Colter gives him a run for his money though as the muscle-bound criminal with nothing left to lose.
Plane looked absolutely terrible so I’m pleased to report that it surpassed my expectations. A pleasant surprise!
In cinemas from Friday 27th January