I won’t lie, my expectations weren’t particularly high walking into this. It had been an incredibly long time since I had seen everyone’s favourite former spartan on the big screen. (I had skipped almost all of his action efforts. The last Gerard Butler movie I saw was P.S. I Love You.) And having seen none of the trailers (I had no idea this movie even existed), I went in with absolutely no anticipation of what was to come. Which could be why Plane was such an absolute joyride.
This is a movie as straightforward as it comes. As the title suggests, Plane follows pilot Brodie Torrance (Gerard Butler) as he finds himself and his passengers crash landing on a remote island in the Phillippines after being taken down by a lightning storm. But, as it has come to be with all action movies like this one, the passengers are soon taken hostage by a militia group and it’s up to him, with some help from convicted murderer Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter), to save the day. Simple enough, but executed oh so well.
“It’s a Plane!”
Now you’ve most likely seen Plane before, only with Mel Gibson, or Liam Neeson or John Travolta. That said, there is something so enigmatically enticing about Gerard Butler. You know exactly what sort of film you’re getting yourself into, and yet he delivers each and every time. There’s no romantic sub plot, no intricate storyline, it’s just a full on action drama that everyone can enjoy. And with the number big CG-fied superhero action blockbusters we get every year, it’s positively refreshing to go back to a film that could have been made in the early 2000’s.
Butler truly shines in this role. He may have been taking on similar roles of late, but they always seem to fit him like a glove. (The Phantom who?) I completely buy into the fact that this Scotsman is an ex-RAF commercial airline pilot who, with some help, can strategize the takedown of a Filipino militia. To his credit, Butler could play a fast food employee who was determined to take down his boss in an action hero way and I still would believe it. The man is a true gift to cinema and needs to be appreciated so much more than he is right now.
Now Butler was great, but so was Mike Colter. Playing an equally stoic convicted murderer, you could say that his performance was fairly similar to the one he gave in Luke Cage. But hey, if it works, why change it? Subdued but sarcastic, Colter is the perfect compliment to Butler, and the both of them should just keep making more action movies together. Heck, if they haven’t already found the cast for that 48 Hours reboot, I think Hollywood just might have an answer. And I’m calling it first!
“De Plane! De Plane!”
Plane has a story and pace that is just about exciting enough to keep you invested. While I was expecting everything to happen within this one plane (à la Air Force One or Non-Stop), I was pleasantly surprised when everyone stepped out, and we entered what felt like, an episode of Lost. The difference being that this one actually had a satisfying ending.
Plane is fun. Pure and simple. It’s a throwback to the kind of mid-budget action movies that made up the majority of Hollywood output in the 1980s and 1990s. It’s that kind of movie that you can go in, lose yourself for 107 minutes, and come out fully exhilarated. It’s a theme park ride. It does exactly what it says on the box. It’s Gerard Butler, with a plane, saving hostages. What else do you want?
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