What makes a hero?
10/10
Author: Anthony Ehlers from South Africa
25 February 2014

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Flight 9/10

The power of this movie is how it uses its fascinating anti-hero, played by Denzel Washington as Whip Whittaker, to ask some tough and intriguing questions. Just like the stunning crash sequence destabilises the life of Whip, an alcoholic pilot, the aftermath changes the way we as an audience look at him. Can a true hero, who saves lives, be an unlikeable alcoholic? That was the unsettling and made me change the way I thought about this question.

And then the writer brings in a theme of religion: the plane crashes into a church's field, the co-pilot is an extreme Christian, even Whip's ally – a senior flight attendant – has a strong faith. Yet here is an arrogant man without faith in anyone except his own deep denial – and is unable to surrender his burden of addiction. The idea of surrender to a higher power is central to recovery – yet it's not hard to see how Whip could see himself as a higher power, saving lives in a trouble sky.

I know some critics found some of the plot points implausible – such as how his addiction went unnoticed in regulatory tests. Others found the 11th hour turnaround in his character a cop-out. These are valid points, but I thought the movie made us see alcoholism in a strikingly original way and that has to be praised.