Did you ever know a “functional” drunk? Now, nobody should ever drive intoxicated, ever, ever, ever … but did you ever have a friend who was, shall we say, good at it? Like, if you had to have a drunk driver, everybody would agree on the one guy who’s best up for the task. I knew a guy like this, and it wasn’t like he was better than anybody at anything …until everybody had ten beers and then he’d kick your ass up and down the gamut of human competition. Ok, now imagine that guy, wasted, flying a plane destined to crash. And there you have Flight in a nutshell.
Captain Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington) is that level of addict where you actually stop caring whether or not the person can control his habit. Flight exhibits a cornucopia of abuse-complimentary soundtrack material, and lemme tell ya — every single song is needed. Act I in this film is as good as they come — Whitaker, three times past the (standard automobile user’s) legal limit of alcoholism and high on cocaine successfully pilots a doomed commercial plane to a crash landing with “minimal” damage … and in the process he is as cool as the other side of the pillow he didn’t use because he was up all night doing blow. His bible-thumping abstinent co-pilot (Brian Geraghty)? Less.
I’d like to see George Clooney’s Up in the Air character shake hands with this pilot.
In the wake of the deteriorating plane, Flight the movie deteriorates as well. You see, the climax happens early on, so it’s 
impossible to be anything but letdown in the aftermath. And, oh my, is there let down. In a period of, maybe, ten minutes, a taut thriller becomes a tedious witch hunt. For all his natural instinct to save lives, Whip Whitaker turns out to be that relative you never visit any more because you worry for your children. He’s an unapologetic drunk and can’t stop, literally, to save his life. And it becomes increasingly difficult to root for the hero Whitaker because his actions are constantly so self-defeating. After the first 25 minutes, I was willing to place Flight among the best films I’d ever seen. By the end, I was questioning whether or not I liked it. Can you beat that?
Robert Zemeckis is still Robert Zemeckis. Which means, of course, that even in a film that turns the way of curdled milk, there’s still plenty to love. I was particularly moved by a “deal with the devil” scene in the hospital. Whitaker is busy making the rounds to secure the “I wasn’t drunk” vote among his constituents. The coma-waking co-pilot doesn’t play that, but instead offers Whitaker a prayer circle. You can see the conflict in Denzel’s eyes — this is a moment he doesn’t believe in, almost literally a shake hands with the devil option, where the devil comes in the form of a God-squader’s team prayer. The inherent contradiction is the stuff of great directors.
Zemeckis also got the best work out of John Goodman in at least a decade as Whip’s personal supplier/enabler. Unfortunately, I feel that calling Flight a top-10 film would only enable it; let’s all be stronger than that.
When airborne, Cap’n Whip’s the boss
Even if he’s hit the sauce
His habits will leave you cross.
Want Forrest Gump? You’re at a loss.
Rated R, 138 Minutes
D: Robert Zemeckis
W: John Gatins
Genre: Did you ever know you’re not my hero?
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Drunk pilots
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: The temperance union
Perv corner: I dare any human interested in women to cast eyes on the Denzel Washington side of the screen during the first two minutes of film. (Nadine Velazquez was on the part where my eyes were) Oh I heard what the man was saying, but he could have been dressed as an evil clown and I’d not have noticed.
