January or February action flicks have been a thing for the past 15 years. Mostly, they've been dominated with Liam Neeson vehicles like Taken (2009). The last one was The Commuter (2018), which was a thriller on board a train. Yet, Neeson did an action thriller on board an airplane called Non-Stop (2014). Since Olympus Has Fallen (2013), Scottish actor Gerard Butler has been on a similar track. Except, his films were generally released in the fall, not winter. He's younger and his films were bigger budgeted, but now it seems as if he's fallen into the Neeson slot.
The Neeson films previously and even Butler's films previously had a bit more intrigue. Usually, it involved schemes or plots. There were mysteries to engage people's brains, but not here. This film is purely a thriller and action with not much intelligence required. When I first saw the trailer, the premise reminded me of Pitch Black (2000) and there are some similarities between that Vin Diesel, science-fiction flick and this more down-to-Earth adventure.
Gerard Butler (300 and Angel Has Fallen) stars as Brodie Torrance, a commercial airline pilot working on New Year's Eve. He has a flight that's leaving from southeast Asia. He's not married but he does have an adult daughter. He seems like a good-nature and compassionate guy, but he does have a history of violence. There's at least one incident where he got over aggressive with a passenger. Otherwise, he just wants to do his job, as he does it very well.
Mike Colter (Evil and Luke Cage) co-stars as Louis Gaspare, a passenger on Brodie's New Year's Eve flight. He's not a regular paying airline customer. He's a prisoner. He's a wanted fugitive on charges of homicide. He's in handcuffs in the back with a law enforcement officer escorting and guarding him. If this were Pitch Black, Louis would be the character played by Vin Diesel. Louis is also ex-military and well trained in combat.
Just like Pitch Black, there is a crash landing and the pilot and the prisoner have to work together to save the other passengers. Pitch Black did a better job of establishing the characters who are the other passengers and giving them somewhat distinct personalities. This film doesn't do that. The other passengers might as well be stick figures for how well they're drawn.
This would've been fine because it would've cleared runway to focus more on Brodie and Louis. Yet, the film doesn't really do that either. Yes, we're constantly with Brodie and the sheer act of following him, as he struggles to survive this extraordinary situation, is compelling in certain moments. More could've been done with the idea of what this man would have to be pushed to do in order to survive, like kill, and how that affects him and contrasts to Louis, but the film doesn't really do that either.
The true crime is how Louis isn't given much to do but be a glorified sidekick but not even that glorified. Louis is more an afterthought or simply a tag-along in this narrative. Colter is not given much of any space to develop his character or interrogate his life or feelings and get to know him better. He's essentially a video game character here, a big buff, Black dude who can wield a gun and that's it.
This is a shame because Colter is a fantastic actor, perhaps even better than Butler. Yet, he's given no opportunity to prove it. Colter has had significant roles in major productions like Million Dollar Baby (2004) and Girls Trip (2017), he hasn't had a leading role, except in television. Putting him more in the forefront in cinema would be something I'd prefer. This film didn't make the case though.
Rated R for language and violence.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 47 mins.
In theaters.
