I watch a lot of movies but I don’t watch current movies too often. To me, Flight is a current movie (if that tells you anything). I got it from Netflix and watched it last week. I’ve wanted to see it since it first came out. I love Denzel Washington. He is such a powerful actor and his Oscar nod this year certainly says something.

The opening of the movie is very gritty and dark but the crash scene was well done. Not quite as vivid as the crash scene in say Bohjalian’s The Night Strangers, but dramatic. Very dramatic.

Halfway through the movie, I realized just how dark it was. Yes, I knew that Denzel’s character had a drinking problem but I wasn’t aware that drugs played a role as well. I think I moved the laundry from the washing machine to the dryer at that point or I would have known this fact earlier. I don’t know about you but once drugs enter the picture, everything becomes desperate and I immediately hated Denzel’s character. The whole plot of the movie revolves around the fact that although Whip (Denzel) saved a lot of lives that day by landing a doomed plane, he did it while totally under the influence of drugs and alcohol. As you can imagine, the situation is not ideal.

Towards the end of the movie, Whip makes a terrible decision and his union friend and lawyer are forced to go along with it and that made me so mad! I almost turned it off at that point. The tone of the movie reminded me of another depressing movie, Leaving Las Vegas. But, in the end, I ending up liking it quite a bit. Denzel’s performance was impressive. John Goodman, as Whip’s drug dealing friend, has a small part but he plays it like a boss. Whip’s love interest is played by an actress I’ve never seen before (Kelly Reilly) but she was quite good and very beautiful in a non-traditional way. I actually looked her up to see what she’s done but didn’t recognize her previous films.

Isn’t she striking?

If you managed to stay with me this long then you should know that I recommend the movie but make sure you don’t have your kids around.It’s not a movie for the whole family to see. There is some nudity, lots of profanity and of course, the drug aspect to consider.

Have you seen it?