There’s always a certain amount of respectful mockery whenever a new Gerard Butler action movie is announced. It was no different with ‘Plane’ when the title and artwork were released. I remember lots of tweets along the lines of “I can’t wait to see the new film where Gerard Butler punches a plane.” Expectations were relatively low, but Butler and director Jean François Richet surprised everyone with this thoroughly enjoyable 90s style action thriller.
Butler plays Brodie Torrance, a former RAF pilot now working for a commercial airline in the Far East. On an overnight flight from Singapore to Honolulu, with only a handful of passengers (including Louis Gaspare, a prisoner being escorted back to Canada) Torrance is advised to take a detour over the South China Sea which puts them in the path of a massive lightning storm.
The plane is badly damaged in the storm, forcing Torrance into an emergency landing on a separatist controlled island in the Philippines. When the passengers and the majority of the crew are taken hostage by the insurgents, Torrance and Gaspare, a former French Foreign Legion operative played by Mike Colter must work together to get them back, fix the plane, and get them off this island.
‘Plane’ is the sort of film you’ll probably approach with a fair amount of ambivalence. The sort of film you might put on in the background, whilst you scroll on your phone. I thought the same thing, but the first act of this film where they fly through the storm and have to emergency land is just relentless, thrilling filmmaking. From the moment the wheels of that plane leave the ground, I was hooked. The phone was put down.
There’s nothing particularly subtle about ‘Plane’ and quite frankly it’s all the better for it. Just a rollicking, brawling R-rated good time. Butler (producing as well as starring, like he does with most his films nowadays) knows exactly what he is doing with this type of material. There’s no fat on the script. It never gets convoluted or confusing. It just powers through to a thrilling and violent final act, and then finishes as soon as the plot wraps up. In and out in 107 minutes. I had an absolute ball with this film. More like this, please Hollywood.
The Blu-ray release comes with three featurettes. There’s also a nice touch in that the disc menu has an airline style announcement introducing the film. The first featurette is ‘This is Your Captain’, which is essentially 15-minutes of the cast and crew talking about what a great guy Gerard Butler is. ‘Plane Clothes’ goes into some of the details that went into the film’s costume design. ‘Brace for Turbulence’ is a more in depth behind the scenes look at the making of the film, and some of the standout stunt and action sequences. The bonus content is rounded out with the theatrical trailer.
Cast: Gerard Butler, Mike Colter, Yoson An, Tony Goldwyn Director: Jean-François Richet Writer: Charles Cumming & J.P. Davis Released By: Lionsgate UK Certificate: 15 Duration: 107 mins Release Date: 24th April 2023
