Movie Review: Flight

Denzel Washington is one of the finest working actors in Hollywood. Pretty much everything he has ever appeared in, he has made better just from his mere presence. His most recent work, Flight, is no exception. Washington absolutely owns the role of pilot Whip Whitaker. Whip miraculously saves 96 out of 102 lives on board after a horrific plane crash. Whip is seen as a hero by the public and the survivors of the crash, but he soon comes after investigation after alcohol and cocaine was found in his system. Flight is an effective, dark character study that is driven by it's strength of Washington's performance. Whip is a twisted, complex alcoholic/drug addict who unravels more and more as the movie goes on.  He is in denial of his addiction and Washington's take on his downward spiral is tragically engrossing. Washington's performance is definitely Oscar-nomination worthy and I wouldn't be surprised if the Academy recognized him come February. The supporting cast including Kelly Riley, Bruce Greenwood, Don Cheadle, and especially John Goodman as Whip's best friend who provides comic relief in a few scenes to break up the gloom of the rest of the movie are all great as well. The lone issues I had with this movie was how it got bogged down at times. The relationship between Whip and recovering heroin addict Nicole (Reilly) wasn't fully developed. She kind of just gets over her heroin addiction instantly while Whip continues to struggle and she really does nothing to try to help him. Don't get me wrong, Reilly is great and you sympathize with her character, I just would've liked to see some more development in the relationship between Whip and Nicole.  Also near the end it kind of dragged, but the intensity and emotional payoff of the last two scenes overshadow the pacing flaws in the second half. Flight is full of excellent acting and is a pretty enthralling tale of an addict who is also a hero that saved people's lives. See it for Washington's nuanced, deep performance alone, Everything else is just a bonus.

4/5 Stars