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 | Investigation | Explosion | Airplane Accident | Flashback

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

An Interesting Perspective

While this certainly was no soap opera, and it didn't crash and burn before it took off, it was an interesting perspective on an airline crash. Yeah, airline disaster movie clichés were dragged out of the closet yet again but thankfully they didn't last as long as they have in past movies. What really had me wondering was why the heck was the woman naked in the very opening scene?!? That had zilch to do with the story. One other thing quite lame was the plane crash site and debris. Totally unbelievable. Aside from those two items this was a decent movie primarily because it offered a different look at a plane crash that isn't ever presented in a movie. Here we see the investigation... mostly, kind of. They had to pad the story with a few subplots or else we would have been bored to tears. Ted McGinley, who was GREAT as the neighbor on Married With Children and definitely didn't kill that series, did a fine job here as the political suckup. An even finer job was done by Mandy Patinkin as the lead NTSB dude. Eric Close as an NTSB investigator could have had more going on but nay, there were too many other characters to get screen time. So like I said this was decent but no Emmy winner. Impossible to watch? Hardly. Because of this movie I don't think I'll ever think so passively about a plane crash again. We've become so used to them happening every now and again. When they do happen peoples' lives are obviously lost but besides those deaths there are loved ones who grieve. I am a VERY caring and compassionate person but before this movie, the loss of life and those suffering, living relatives never really crossed my mind. This opened my eyes to that and the next time there is a crash I will grieve and say a prayer for all those affected. My grade for this: C