“Flight Of the Phoenix” (20th Century Fox)
“Flight of the Phoenix” is a remake of an old Jimmy Stewart film. The original wasn’t a huge hit but was solidly successful. The remake should be the same. Dennis Quaid leads a cast of relative unknowns in a story about a plane crash in the Gobi Dessert. With water and food running out, the stranded people decide to rebuild their plane. This makes for a fascinating story that stretches the boundaries of belief but never destroys them.
Dennis Quaid plays Frank Towns. He is a pilot and also the man sent to close down an oil exploration site in the desert. His co-pilot and main assistant is A. J. (Tyrese Gibson). They land at the site, deliver the “close down” message, and then take off with the people who work there plus a man named Elliott (Giovanni Ribisi) who just happens to have been stranded at the site.
After taking off the plane runs into a desert storm and crashes. Without a radio (which was damaged by the crash) and little hope for rescue, this motley crew is in desperate straits. Rather than do nothing, Elliott proposes they mend the airplane into flying condition, and that is what they try to do.
Quaid is the perfect leading man for a film such as this. He can be cranky and heroic at the same time. Tyrese makes a solid impression as his friend and second in command. Ribisi is a little too eccentric for his role but is still effective. Miranda Otto (“Lord of the Rings”) is the lone female in the group but nothing major is made of that fact.
The movie works because of the story. There is a lot of excitement and a lot of tension inherent in the plot and this movie maximizes every aspect. You never know who is going to die before the final attempt at escape and you genuinely begin to care about each one as the film progresses.
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence.
“Flight of the Phoenix” like “National Treasure” is not a movie that dazzles. It is just solid escapist entertainment that steadily keeps the audiences’ interest from start to finish.
I scored “Flight of the Phoenix” an ashy 6 out of 10.
