Plane is the new action-thriller that was taken out of a Redbox premiere by Gerard Butler, who acted in it. However, movie-goers were first introduced to Plane – another action-thriller saved from the abyss of RedBox by Gerard Butler – through its bewildering trailer. The funniest title shows in memory are made by plane; these five simple letters appear on the screen so gravely and have absolutely nothing to do with an airplane except for the opening seconds (“Imagine watching a Titanic ad and suddenly realizing that “Car” is how Rose gets to the port”). Nevertheless, while this movie’s title would suggest otherwise, there is an enormous plane around which everything happens here and Jean-François Richet’s story in which a plane trip goes wrong followed by an escape from a Filipino jungle full of militants preceded competently crafted but rather entertaining.
However, despite being marketed as a whiz-bang actioner, Plane is remarkably restrained at times. It starts with an extremely procedural almost cinema-verite look at the titular plane and its passengers1 similar to Paul Greengrass’ approach towards United 93 from instruments, boarding process, initial ascent, etc. With such films like B-movies shot with A-movie budgets rarely has something mundane been interesting. In addition, moviegoers should be ready to witness a biopic kind of situation or reality because unlike United 93 as it becomes clear when Brodie Torrance (Butler), the vessel captain discovers he has a dangerous prisoner – Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter) – whom he must transport back to the US via his Singapore base where he is wanted for murder. At that moment drama starts happening. There appears to be something coming apart; Torrance attempts to reach his teenage daughter living in Hawaii before New Year arrives (which makes the Plane well-scheduled for January release besides explaining why there are only 12 passengers aboard representing a less complicated plot).
On the other hand, it was not Gaspare’s presence that was a problem. Actually, it was much worse than this. To begin with, bad luck and neglect of maintenance on top of that caused Trailblazer Airlines Flight 119 (the company name is just the tip of an iceberg)to be exposed to weather forces. And then there is an emergency landing on Jolo Island in the Philippines (mostly shot in Puerto Rico), which results in Lost-like turbulence. As happened in Lost Pilot by J.J. Abrams, an air marshal accompanying an arrested man gets unconscious, and among them, only a few who survived remain without any radio communication and now they are going through food rationing. But unlike those in smoke monsters or ghosts’ line up from the Lost series, Plane’s evil forces lurking deep within the jungle turn out to be easy to identify. In other words: these are ordinary human militants kidnapping foreigners for ransoms as well as terrorists with their own religious practices yet such things about them can not be mentioned publicly by anyone except for Abrams himself.
Abu Sayyaf, an ISIS clone situated in Southeast Asia maintains a firm grip on the true Jolo, but you wouldn’t be able to get that unless you have a good understanding of the area. The film’s geopolitics are never really spelled out and this is why it seems strange that the image-conscious Trailblazer would send their own team of private mercenaries (most from America) to help save the survivors and prevent a PR disaster. One can observe an implicit West-versus-Asian-Other framework taking shape–or even more precisely, West-versus-Islamic-Terror if one has any knowledge about Jolo’s kidnappings and brutal killings— which gains greater emphasis when it transpires that both Torrance—the Scotsman—and American Gaspare—who end up heavily armed in the jungle—are former soldiers from the early 2000s.
However, the reality is not very important in Richet’s movie, where two-dimensional militants being enabled by video game henchmen become objects of ruthless elimination as they pose a danger to Western passengers.
It would be another thing entirely if Plane served as the basis for a farcical, blood-soaked beat-‘em-up with ridiculous stylings; however, for the most part Plane remains grounded thereby making these racial optics more difficult to avoid during some rare moments when the film attempts at indulging itself in gleeful violence. They always almost humanize villains; though not complex enough to appear sympathetic or so cartoonish as disposable either. (Even though there is something off about It because it seems as if it does not fully embrace its own premise despite how uncomfortable such a premise is.)
That being said, Richet is less interested in the narrative’s violence than he is in winding up tension as Torrance and Gaspare weave through and around larger groups at times observing helplessly from a distance as militants stormed into control while at other points getting involved only to be handed their asses until reinforcements arrive. In many cases, the first plot develops with procedural minimalism rarely supported by any score that forces Butler to be the film’s emotional center in the midst of hasty attempts to send messages through to Trailblazer’s squalid boardroom. However, do not let Plane realism discourage you; it also leads up to one of the silliest and most satisfying death scenes in recent memory even though this movie’s bloodletting has been given an extremely soft R rating. Some instances are required where violence must take place off-screen when Gaspare is supposed to remain mysterious as his actions are known only through story, but comedy is hardly ever a result when we, at last, see something gruesomely funny.
With movies such as Geostorm and Den of Thieves, Butler has become a dependable action presence (where Dwayne Johnson is a brand, Butler is often cast as an every-dad), who manages just enough intensity to sell us on a tale that has no real moral dimensions but looks urgent enough. Torrance is an honest man who wants nothing more than to keep his passengers safe while getting back to his daughter, even if he has to make that dangerous decision of unchaining Gaspare and going after him for some assistance. Nevertheless, this ambivalent story about Gaspare’s humanity being judged and only partially allowed ends almost instantly with fireworks leaving only the rougher sketch of men on a mission behind.
No surprising dimensions come from either the men or their mission, but Richet’s familiarity with the workman’s execution ensures that everything moves along without a hitch. It could be worse in January.
Final word
A surprisingly grounded action-thriller, Plane is a reasonably executed Gerard Butler star vehicle about a pilot attempting to save his crew from unidentified militants with the aid of a dangerous fugitive. Its few stylistic quirks may not make it a classic of its genre, but they are enough to momentarily make it enjoyable.
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