NTSB: The Crash of Flight 323 (2004) (TV)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

Director:

Jeff Bleckner

Writer (WGA):

Bill Cain (written by)

Release Date:

22 March 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A team of federal investigators have to comb through the wreckage of a crashed airplane to find the cause of the fatal downing. Was it terrorism? Negligence? Human failure? Or just a tragic accident?

Plot Keywords:

Airplane | Father Son Relationship | Female Reporter | Press Conference | Paper Airplane

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Mandy Patinkin	...	Al Cummings
Eric Close	...	N'Tom Price
Kevin Dunn	...	Cyrus
Jeffrey D. Sams	...	JLP (John Pierce)
Ted McGinley	...	Reese Faulkner
Brian Markinson	...	McGregor
Brett Cullen	...	Hub Weber
Richard Riehle	...	Ernie Wilson
Roger R. Cross	...	Co-Pilot
Robert Wisden
Russell Yuen
Adam Tsou	...	Peter Paul
Bill Dow	...	Wally
Hrothgar Mathews	...	FBI Agent O'Donnell
Bernard Cuffling	...	Patrician

Also Known As:

Everything That Rises (USA) (working title)
Running Towards the Flame (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Omnibus

This movie crashed and burned long before the plane went down

In the first 20 minutes, every cliche possible was trotted out by the hack writer and director. There was the NTSB primary investigator with the tortured family life; the politically-tortured NTSB board member played by [I can kill ANY TV] Ted McGinley; the tortured father of a crash victim; and the torturing sleazy ambulance-chasing lawyer.

Hollywood still has no concept of the fragility of aircraft. The crashed plane was a 737 and it was mostly sitting on the ground like a hippo who decided to take a nap. The first third of the fuselage was intact, the rear half of the plane was intact and the debris field showed no wings or engines. Most of the people should have walked away in light of how many people survived that plane that got shredded in Iowa after it lost its hydraulics. Most of this TV plane wasn't even burned.

It reminded me of the scene in "Air Force One" where the 747 hits the water and then skips along like it's made of inch-thick steel.

The show was so bad it was impossible to watch. Even my wife, who is more accepting than I, was commenting on technical flaws. What had me stunned was how this POS could ever get made. Are the producers of these things so used to clichés that they can't even recognize them? Somebody read this script and said: Yes, I want to spend a million bucks making this real. I wish I was the guy's next appointment. I have title to a wonderful bridge in New York that I'd sell cheap.