ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

mach0017-1 An airline pilot who has lost everything electrical, hydraulic, wind and steam-powered on his plane makes contact with PHX center via cell phone and says "Roger Phoenix, we are not going anywhere." If you don't understand the problem with that, you will probably think this is a good movie. The dialogue comes fast and furious and is full of in-crowd jargon, but also full of ATC non-sequiturs. I got the impression a copy of the script was cut up into strips that contained one line of dialogue AND one line of action on each strip, then each strip pasted on a 3 x 5 card; then the cards were shuffled very thoroughly and the movie shot in order from the resulting stack of cards. A REAL air traffic controller would find hundreds of lines with technical errors; you would think that control towers and centers (ARTCC) were interchangeable. In a scene near the end, when all the airplanes PHX ARTCC was controlling have all gotten on the ground, the controllers all close up shop and go home, leaving the ARTCC unmanned, except for the hero and a few other important characters. Then when they assume that the last airplane has crashed, they all climb up the stairs to the tower, which is apparently conveniently on top of the ARTCC (which is never the case), and the hero ARTCC controller guides the plane in from the catwalk outside the control tower cab. A complete list of the technical improbabilities, inconsistencies in dialogue and unexplained scene shifts would fill a 500 page book. I say all this having been an air traffic controller and ATP rated pilot. Again, any pilot or controller who thinks this is a good movie was not paying attention.

sledhead535 Being a former Aviator since soloing at the age of 16, I was going to become an Air Traffic Controller. A stomach condition prevented that, but I maintained my Aviation activities and all of my friends in ATC and Aviation in general. So..... when I recently discovered this movie on Xfinity, I HAD to watch it.A dismal disappointment. To me, and to (probably) many Controllers and Aviators alike.I agree with all of the "goofs" in the summary. For some reason, Hellywood LOVES to use the words "FLIGHT LEVEL" for any reason in an Aviation film. Flight Levels BEGIN at 18,000 ft.Another laugh, to ME, anyway, was when the pilot of a commercial jetliner complains about the cost of making a particular TURN. The female "Controller" tells the pilot to make the turn in the amount of money the pilot said it would cost. An OLD joke. Movie is a poor cliché.

chrismulkeyisgod After watching the final season of Lost I purchased Ground Control for 1/2 Lb. (this accounts for inflation, I think) from a small, local England shop. I was pleasantly surprised at how entertained I felt--keep in mind that most things do not entertain me anymore; I feel very grim most of the time. But surprisingly, despite myself not being an aviation buff of any kind I was able to follow along with most of the jargon which is normally an impediment with me (for example, if the movie is about a stock market I have a hard time following the lingo, especially if the film is American) But it all seemed very realistic to me and my husband. Who watched it with me. It makes me wonder about all the "close calls" that go by every day underneath our nose. Usually when I fly; which is pretty regularly, now; I don't pay any mind to all of the magic that goes on behind the scenes of the flight. Now I will pay attention. This is a great movie, especially if you love Keither Sutherland (and both me and my husband DO). I give this movie 8/10 stars--it could have used a more romantic subplot involving a woman and Keither Sutherland, and I saw the ending coming a mile away WITH or WITHOUT the help of ATC (lol!)

Jonathon Dabell One has to wonder why the likes of Kiefer Sutherland, Kelly McGillis, Kristy Swanson and Henry Winkler would lend their talents to a routine drama like this. While not exactly at the peak of their game – Sutherland was still in a lull before "24" reinvigorated his career; McGillis, Swanson and Winkler were well past the heyday years of "Top Gun", "Buffy" and "Happy Days" respectively – they're collectively too good to be wasted on such uninspired fare. This drama set in the world of air traffic control is routine in every department. Watching it will not offend your sensibilities in any way, shape or form…. but neither will it have you raving to all your friends what an undiscovered masterpiece you've just unearthed.Jack Harris (Kiefer Sutherland) used to be an ace air traffic controller, until one night in Chicago he listened helplessly as a flight in his sector crashed, killing all 174 passengers and crew. Although Harris was blameless, the incident left him deeply scarred. Five years later he makes a living in Phoenix, designing computer software and gradually recovering from the break-up of his relationship and battle with alcoholism. Harris's old air traffic buddy TC Bryant (Bruce McGill) – who has also moved down to Phoenix - approaches him one New Year, asking Harris to help out at the air traffic control centre during a staff shortage. Harris is reluctant but he eventually agrees. As it happens, Phoenix is excessively busy with aircraft that night as a storm has diverted more than fifty extra flights their way. Other controllers trying to land the planes safely that night include cocksure Cruise (Robert Sean Leonard) and first-night-on-the-job rookie Julie Albrecht (Kristy Swanson). As the pressure builds, Harris finds himself struggling to remain focused and he keeps experiencing flashbacks to that fateful night in Chicago. Then the unthinkable happens – an aircraft puts in a distress call. They've lost all power and hydraulics, they can't even turn the plane, they're low on fuel and they're carrying over 130 passengers. Harris thinks he knows a way to bring the plane in safely…. but will his nerves hold?Ground Control is clichéd stuff. Every character is lifted from stock – if you have your tick boxes ready, there's the flawed hero (Sutherland) - check; the cocky rival (Leonard) - check; the rookie (Swanson) - check; the dryly humorous technical boffin (Winkler) - check; the pig-headed boss (McGillis) – check; and the inspirational father figure who draws everyone together in a crisis (McGill) – check! Much of the dialogue is incomprehensible air traffic lingo ("turn right on a 2-9er-2 heading and reduce air speed by 15 knots"), and some scenes become tedious due to the sheer weight of technical babble. However the film is not all that badly done. The actors at least try quite hard in their cardboard roles, and the final twenty minutes or so, during which they battle to bring in the stricken plane, has an element of excitement. This is an unexceptional, workmanlike drama – easy viewing for those with an hour and a half to spare.