BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

vchimpanzee Pacific Global Flight 52 is headed from San Francisco to Japan when it has to change course due to storms. The new route takes the flight dangerously close to a restricted zone where a missile test is taking place.John Berry is a 'weekend pilot' who ends up having to fly a very complicated aircraft, under adverse conditions, and get it back to the ground safely. Sharon is the flight attendant who has to help him. They are among the few who were not in the main cabin or the cockpit and therefore not affected by what happened. There were also passengers in a conference room, but they seemed to contribute little to the situation.Cmdr. Slan shows little emotion over what has happened and, in fact, he cares more about the navy's reputation than the passengers on the plane. Even worse, Beneficial Insurance agent Anne Metz only cares about potential liability, which will be less if everyone on board dies in a crash away from a populated area. If, for example, the plane crashes into buildings in a large city, her company and Pacific Global could both go bankrupt.I thought Aidan Quinn and Kelly Hu did a good job showing they could take charge of the situation. Dean Cain delivered a detached and uncaring attitude, very military, occasionally angry (but restrained, and for all the wrong reasons). Charles Dutton did a fine job as the admiral observing the missile test. The actor playing the older airline executive did a good job, while the younger man who worked directly with Metz came across as an unfeeling buffoon. The air traffic controllers seemed very professional, as did military pilot Lt. Matos, who investigated the missile situation up close.To me, the action in the plane looked realistic, though I'm certainly no expert on what should have happened. The big event was quite exciting and scary. And the excitement occasionally returned. The events in the cockpit were pretty amazing if not miraculous, and it's incredible the new crew had their calm moments. They did work well together. But much of the tension came from what the various parties didn't know about what was going on, and from our heroes having to figure out certain things.It was entertaining, whether realistic or not. One hopes the people on the ground would have more concern in real life.

lowell-wiley This movie does not do justice to the original book from which it was taken. About 30 years ago Tom Block's name was on the cover, and he was credited with this original book. Recently his friend and fellow writer Nelson DeMille put his name on it. The movie barely mentions Tom Block. Tom is a retired airline pilot who knows his stuff. Read the book to see that. We can guess why this was done. Some asked about afterburners and rapid or explosive decompression. Read the book, but there was a lot of funny things going on in the film with all this. Funny and dumb to a pilot. Even with so many changes it was a half way interesting film. Too bad it might take readers away from the re-released book when it ought to help to make a lot more. Film viewers will be more than pleasantly surprised if they do read Tom Block's book (well, I guess Nelson DeMille did have a good part in the writing, after all he got his name on it finally). See the film, but definitely read the book.

mntodc OK, I have to admit - I became entranced in this movie switching to it after the missile had already hit the plane - I was confused as to the plot, but it held my interest until the end - couldn't wait to see "what happens next". Plus, the cast gave the movie its raison d'etre (reason to be).Now, they land the plane, then walk toward the media to "become heroes" (stupid last line, very comparable to the last line of the sequel to Saturday Night Fever, "I feel like struttin!"). I thought, 'this has to be a mini series', since the airline responsibility and the military secret both had to be exposed...THIS is where I thought the movie would save itself. But NO..now I find out THAT WAS IT! Now, I'm really upset with myself for watching it. what a let down.

V-Man Given the fact that its a made for TV B-movie, it was pulled off nicely. Many complain about the realism, but how many action movies depict an actual decompression semi-accurately? At least they acknowledged that oxygen deprivation will kill or render a person unconscious. Besides that, its not an action movie like many other airplane movies. What intrigued me is the moral and ethical struggle posed. This is what the movie is trying to say, that every day things depicted in the movie can actually happen. How many already have and been covered up in such a way? As for the quirks, it was amusing to see Dean Cain in an antagonist role for once, but the so called "navy headquarters" was reminiscent of a WW2 battle room.