FLIGHT | FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

"FLIGHT"
(2012) (Denzel Washington, Kelly Reilly) (R)

QUICK TAKE:: Drama: After managing to land a passenger jet under near impossible conditions, a pilot must contend with an investigation into his private life and behavior.

PLOT:

Whip Whitaker (DENZEL WASHINGTON) is a professional airline pilot who's in a relationship with flight attendant Katerina Marquez (NADINE VELAZQUEZ). Before their first flight of the day, they drink and do drugs. Yet, they take off for a short flight with one hundred and two people on their plane, Ken Evans (BRIAN GERAGHTY) in the co-pilot's seat and Margaret Thomason (TAMARA TUNIE) as another flight attendant.

Following a harrowing lift-off through a storm, Whip sneaks some booze into his orange juice and then naps, with Ken at the controls. But a mechanical failure quickly sends the plane into a deep dive, with Whip doing everything he can to keep the flight aloft, including flying the airliner upside down.

After a crash-landing, Whip wakes up in the hospital, greeted by his old friend, fellow pilot and now pilots' union representative Charlie Anderson (BRUCE GREENWOOD). He learns that all but six people survived the landing, and thus informs his drug dealer, Harling Mays (JOHN GOODMAN), that he's giving up such behavior. That's a sentiment shared by a woman, Nicole (KELLY REILLY), who he meets in the stairwell for a smoke and has been hospitalized due to a heroin overdose.

She eventually joins Whip at his late father's farm house where he hopes to avoid the press and other public attention now focused his way. To make matters worse for him, toxicology reports indicate alcohol and drugs in his system at the time of the crash, something that could result in him being criminally negligent for those who lost their lives in the crash-landing. As a result, the union has brought in trial lawyer Hugh Lang (DON CHEADLE) to perform his legal magic in making that go away.

He needs Whip's cooperation, however, to make that work, something that seems iffy at best especially now that the pilot is partaking once again. As a big NTSB hearing approaches, it's uncertain if Whip will be able to control himself enough to avoid a possible prison sentence for his past behavior.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Older teens might have some interest, especially if they're fans of anyone in the cast or the films of director Robert Zemeckis.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For drug and alcohol abuse, language, sexuality/nudity and an intense action sequence.

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