Flight of the Phoenix

December 23, 2004

Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 113 min Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Let me state up front that though this movie gets a 3-star rating, we here at MfG have to warn you that, if you have seen the original 1965 movie with Jimmy Stewart, this new version helmed by John Moore drops back to a 2-star rating. We all thought the original version of the movie was quite good and we had a lot of reservations about the need for a remake. The action scenes were done so well that we feared there wasn’t much that today’s sfx technology could improve upon and, as it turns out, our fears were justified. If you haven’t seen the original, though, we feel you’ll probably enjoy it a bit more than we did.

Flight of the Phoenix Before I get too negative, though, lets review what is good about the movie. Firstly, the casting was, given the story changes, quite good and the acting performances turned in were also pretty decent. The special effects folks did do a good job introducing some very scary looking weather, too. Specifically, the sand storm at the beginning made for some great eye candy and the electrical storms were also well done. As well, the source material is top notch. What made the original version so good was the story and the little surprises & setbacks built into it. Some of that brilliance shines through in the remake even with some mis-steps taken by the writers and Mr. Moore.

On the down side, the editing was spotty in places and there was too much in it that was contrived. As the cargo is being loaded on the plane at the beginning, I wondered why they were loading dozens of metal pipe sections and leaving behind all the valuable electronics and comm equipment. Later I realized that the pipe sections would required later for makeshift scaffolding and the comm equipment would have only allowed them to make a satellite phone call and get out of there with little muss or fuss. Silly me! I should have realized that characters in second tier-movies will always do what is required to further the plot rather than do what makes common sense.

Another source of disappointment for me in the movie was that many of the little changes to the story seemed to have been done simply for the sake of throwing a curveball to people who’ve seen the original. The problem here is that these breaking balls hang up in the strike zone and even Jessica Simpson could hit these out of the park.

If you never saw the original, then these annoyances won’t exist for you, though. Nor will you have a superior product to compare it to. Think of it like this: If you’ve never been to Las Vegas, then Reno would seem like a pretty neat place.

The bottom line is if you miss this one on the big screen, you shouldn’t lose sleep over it, but it’s not a totally horrible waste of two hours either.

Posted by Alex | Filed Under 3 Stars, Action, Dennis Quaid, Drama, Giovanni Ribisi, Miranda Otto, PG-13, Theatrical, Tyrese