Movie Review

The Flight of the Phoenix (PG-13)

Sharon Knolle

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Hollywood.com Says
Unless you've just got to see the plane crash on the big screen, The Flight of the Phoenix will make a dandy rental

Story
Pilot Frank "Shut 'Em Down" Towns (Dennis Quaid) arrives in Mongolia to close down an unprosperous oil rig and fly the disgruntled crew home. Along for the ride are his partner, A.J. (Tyrese), the oil company's fetching but feisty female foreman (Miranda Otto), the company man (Hugh Laurie), assorted grease monkeys, and one very odd hitchhiker (Giovanni Ribisi). Townes foolishly decides to fly into a sandstorm instead of turning back, resulting in a forced landing that has them stranded in the middle of the Gobi desert with little hope of rescue. Moviegoers will likely be comparing the film not to the original, but to TV's similar plane crash story, Lost. Like Lost, there's a reluctant leader, a spunky babe, a wise Arabic guy, and lots of life-or-death tension. (Sorry, no polar bears). Once they realize no rescue is coming, they concoct a risky plan to get home, although not everyone's sold on the idea.

Acting
Dennis Quaid is his usual roguish self as Towns, a crusty, arrogant, but still charming guy who might be Harrison Ford's brother from Six Days, Seven Nights. Heavy lifting isn't required by the actors in a film like this, but indie fave Giovanni Ribisi turns in a nicely twitchy performance as Elliott, the fellow who turns out to be strangely important to their survival. Miranda Otto (Eowyn from The Lord of the Rings films) is once again believably self-sufficient and is spared any romantic overtures from her fellow survivors. Hugh Laurie's character is at first merely "the suit," but gradually pitches in with the blue-collar workers. Tony Curran and Tyrese buddy up as they pull together to salvage what they can from the wrecked plane. As the chef, Jacob Vargas supplies much of the comedy, while desert know-how comes from Kevork Malikyan.

Direction
John Moore, who also directed the rah-rah actioner Behind Enemy Lines, clearly likes stories about men in desperate circumstances, leavened by unlikely bonding and humor. The Gobi desert never looked more beautiful, or more ominous, with its mysteriously shifting sand. The plane crash might not be able to rival The Day After Tomorrow's tornados or jaw-dropping tidal wave, but is still horrifyingly riveting. If you can't predict every beat of the finale, however, you clearly haven't seen enough movies.

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