Director Robert Zemeckis' first live action film since Cast Away is once again dependent on the superlative acting chops of its star, in this case Denzel Washington, to carry what would otherwise be a rather muddled, unfocused film. Washington plays a pilot with a serious substance abuse problem who performs a miracle of a landing when his plane falls out of the sky. At first he's a hero, but things soon spiral out of control when his proclivities for drugs and alcohol become apparent to investigators. Washington is simply magnificent, brilliantly straddling the line between arrogance and denial. To its credit, the film refuses to take the easy way out in terms of the struggles of addiction, even employing comedy during one of the more memorable scenes. It does, somewhat disappointingly, settle for the pat, redemptive Hollywood ending and spends far too much time on an unnecessary romantic subplot, but these are minor concerns. An honest, believable portrayal of a flawed but fascinating character, with one hell of a plane crash sequence thrown in for good measure.
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