Flight - DVD

Film: It has been over twelve years since director Robert Zemeckis delivered his last live-action film with Cast Away. For a long time, it looked like Zemeckis would only make 3D motion capture films after the successes of The Polar Express, The Legend of Beowulf and A Christmas Story. But thankfully, he has reconsidered. Because with Flight, he finally proves once again what a good storyteller he can be when he doesn't have to focus primarily on technical gimmicks.

The drama centers on veteran pilot Captain Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington), who, after years of experience, can fly his passengers safely across the United States virtually in his sleep. So he has no problem getting into the cockpit only slightly refreshed after a night of sex, drugs and alcohol. But what was supposed to be a routine flight soon threatens to end in disaster when the plane runs into severe turbulence and a series of technical problems send the plane into a nosedive that Whitaker and his young co-pilot seem unable to stop. It takes a spectacular maneuver for the captain to pull off the miracle: he brings the plane down, losing only six of the 96 people on board. He is quickly celebrated as a hero by the media. After all, it's clear to everyone: no one but Whitaker could have landed the plane. But the routine investigation sheds new light on the situation and especially on the hero of the hour. And while wily lawyer Hugh Lang (Don Cheadle) fights to keep Whitaker's reputation intact and avoid jail time, Whip is forced to confront his own demons. And that doesn't sit well with the pilot at all...

The first half hour of Flight is really great. This is not only because of the really spectacularly staged plane crash, but also because of the excellent performance of Denzel Washington, who can fully develop here due to the extremely strong script. And when John Goodman makes his truly divine first brief appearance, there's no doubt that Zemeckis hasn't forgotten his craft in live-action film. The whole thing is moving, amusing and thrilling. Great cinema entertainment doesn't really get any better than this.

The problem is that Flight rarely soars to such heights after this strong beginning. There are some great moments, thanks in particular to the very good acting. Otherwise, however, the drama about guilt and atonement rather leisurely ripples towards its unfortunately overdone finale. No question, the movie is still good even in its weaker moments and the story is very engaging. Especially the relationship between Whip and the unstable Nicole (Kelly Reilly) offers the viewer some very strong scenes. But unfortunately, John Gatis' screenplay relies too often on arguably predictable clichés, which takes away much of the suspense, especially in the second half. Had Zemeckis had the guts to go the darker route at the end instead of relying on the goodness of his characters, the drama could have not only been genuinely surprising, but also had a lasting effect. As it is, however, after a first-rate beginning, the whole thing descends into too thoughtful ordinariness to leave any real impression.

In the hands of a less talented director and carried by a weaker lead actor, Flight might even have become utterly meaningless. As it is, it at least turned out to be a very entertaining drama, at least in parts, with great visuals and some great moments, which could have done with more of the occasionally pleasantly biting humour and less of the kitsch laid on too thick at the end. Despite the obvious weaknesses, the bottom line is still a more than deserved: worth seeing!!

Picture + Sound: Technically, the DVD leaves a good to very good impression. The picture is very clean and shines with a high image sharpness, a powerful color scheme and coherent contrasts. The sound presents itself in a powerful Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, which transports the dialogue and the music in the quieter moments well coordinated from the speakers, but especially during the plane crash can also come up with some rich surround effects. Good!

Extras: Besides the main film, the DVD also has a few nice extras to offer. In addition to a standard making of (approx. 11 min.) and another short documentary about the making of Flight (approx. 10 min.), there is also a question-and-answer session with the cast and makers of the film (approx. 14 min.), although Denzel Washington was unable to attend. In addition, another featurette offers an insight into the making of the plane crash (approx. 7 min.). The trailer for the film and other program tips from the provider then round out the additional offerings.

Conclusion: Flight marks the long overdue return of Robert Zemeckis to live-action film. Even if the drama can not keep the high level of its first third to the end, but prevails at the end of a very positive overall impression, which is strengthened in the DVD by the good technical implementation and the decent additional material. For it there is then despite dramaturgical weaknesses a clear: Recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp