I think movies are starting to realize that as long as you have one really effective one-take shot, it’s going to be at least good.

Yes, there is a one-take shot in the film and it takes about halfway through the movie to get there. It’s really at that point when things begin to pick up. Unfortunately, there’s not much time left in the film at this point. I don’t mind when movies take time in the beginning for character development. I think the biggest problem with them doing it here is that it doesn’t take the full opportunity of this type of concept. While Gerald Butler’s character gets plenty of screen time and background, Mike Colter’s character isn’t used to the upmost potential and all of the other side characters feel like more of a plot device with little to no realism.

Starting with the positives, I do believe that this is an effectively smart movie that knows how to deliver. On a technical level, it is quite impressive between that one-take shot mentioned and the action in the latter half, it is far more entertaining than one might expect, especially for such a unique title, like Plane.

My only complaints are really within the structure of the first half and the cringe moments & dialogue from the script. The first half really does drag. While Butler’s character is well developed, I still don’t really think there was an arc for Colter’s character, which is disappointing as he is a very underrated actor. The side characters also got annoying. I understand that they had to exist to help Butler’s character’s arc, but they got annoying pretty quick. The moment that they thought they were getting help, but were clearly getting attacked from the enemy, felt lazy and unrealistic.

Overall, this is quite a good time and I am excited to see what they do with that sequel that was announced.

VERDICT: 3.5/5 (Pretty Good)