Denzel Washington’s done a lot of saving in his career. In The Taking of Pelham 123, the actor saves a train full of hostages. In John Q, Denzel saves his son from heart failure. In Man on Fire, Denzel saves Dakota Fanning from Mexican crime lords. And in Déjà Vu, he saves the world from terrorists.
Sadly, Denzel has failed to save these films from disastrous reviews.
This is not to say the man can’t act. Malcolm X, Mississippi Masala and Inside Job are all great examples of Washington’s acting prowess: arguably, under the right director he produces gold. Of late, however, it’s been more miss than hit.
I rented Flight with mixed expectations. As I read the description, I rolled my eyes…Denzel Washington saves an airplane…drunk? There really seemed to be no end to this man’s life saving capabilities.
When intoxicated pilot William Whitaker (Denzel Washington) crash-lands a defective airplane, the alcoholic saves the lives of several passengers and survives. A toxicology screen, however, reveals alcohol and drug consumption: a report that threatens to send him to jail. Hostages, sons, terrorists….and now himself. Can he sober up? Can this man save himself?
Jokes aside, Flight is impressively executed. The actor is back on form after a damaging spell of Tony Scott turkeys. He plays the stubborn, alcohol-abusing Whitaker to perfection, painting a visceral depiction of a miserable man who has lost it all to drink. Is Denzel headed toward Oscar glory? A nomination, perhaps. The Academy enjoys alcoholics; furthermore, it has no reason not to enjoy this barnstorming performance by Hollywood’s most popular black actor.
Bob Zemeckis, the director of the much-adored Back to The Future series and the highly overrated Forrest Gump, presents us with a sharp, moving piece that gravitates away from cliché and offers us truth. The somewhat moralistic denouement may be predictable, but it is also sincere: a trait that contemporary Hollywood lacks.
Do watch Flight. It’s really the story of how one man saved his career.
Stars - ★★★★
Reviewed by Rehan Mudannayake
Flight (2012)
Drama
An airline pilot saves a flight from crashing, but an investigation into the malfunctions reveals something troubling.
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writer: John Gatins
Stars: Nadine Velazquez, Denzel Washington and Carter Cabassa
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0 Comments
Gamarala says:
Jan 15, 2013 at 12:00 amWhat’s impressive in Washington's run is not so much the individual numbers but the consistency, his ability to turn out one respectable box-office performance after another in a time of such unevenness. Few of the veteran A-listers in Washington's generation have matched his four-movie winning streak This isn’t wholly Denzil Washingtons' fault. We live in a time when star power is pretty far down on the list of why we go to the movies - which makes Washington even more of an anomaly. Washing