Flight of the Phoenix (2004)

Director:

John Moore

Writers (WGA):

Lukas Heller (1965 screenplay)
Scott Frank (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 December 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The only way out is up

Plot:

Survivors of a plane crash in the Mongolian desert work together to build a new plane.

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Stranded | Remake | Airplane Accident | Sandstorm

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Dennis Quaid	...	Frank Towns
Tyrese Gibson	...	A.J.
Giovanni Ribisi	...	Elliott
Miranda Otto	...	Kelly Johnson
Tony Curran	...	Alex Rodney
Sticky Fingaz	...	Jeremy (as Kirk Jones)
Jacob Vargas	...	Sammi
Hugh Laurie	...	Ian
Scott Michael Campbell	...	James Liddle
Kevork Malikyan	...	Rady
Jared Padalecki	...	John Davis
Paul Ditchfield	...	Dr. Gerber
Martin Hindy	...	Newman (as Martin 'Mako' Hindy)
Bob Brown	...	Kyle
Anthony Wong	...	Lead Smuggler

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some language, action and violence.

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

UK:12 (video rating) (2005) | UK:12A (original rating) | Canada:14A (DVD rating) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #41095) | Taiwan:PG-12 | Norway:11 | Iceland:14 | Malaysia:U | South Korea:12 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Finland:K-11 (DVD rating) | Germany:12 | Ireland:12A | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M (DVD rating) | Philippines:G | Singapore:PG | Greece:K-13 | Peru:14 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Africa

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The production built a "Phoenix" that could be taxied, but were unable to safely build a flying version economically. Mindful of the original production which did build a "Phoenix" that could fly, but was structurally unsound and crashed killing stuntman Paul Mantz, the flying scenes were done using a radio controlled model and computer graphics.

Goofs:

Factual errors: If the outside surface wind were indeed between seventy and one-hundred miles per hour as stated, the C-119 would almost be at a standstill at touchdown. Even with a relatively greater than normal airspeed speed, the wind the aircraft is facing into would reduce the planes groundspeed by that amount. In spite of this massive wind, the aircraft touches down at a high rate of speed and slides along for a considerable distance.

Quotes:

[preparing for takeoff]
A.J.: [as Bill Cosby] OK, all set, Mr. President. I think it's about time that we do the checklist as the two Bills. What do you say, buddy?
Frank Towns: [as Bill Clinton] Why change a good thing? Go ahead.
A.J.: Allow me to grab my bulletin. Seatbelts.
Frank Towns: I always like to have a little something strapped to my lap. Check.
A.J.: Windows, doors and hatches.
Frank Towns: Closed and secure, so no-one can disturb us.
A.J.: Water injection.
Frank Towns: That's what she said. Check.
A.J.: Gyro.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Phoenix Diaries (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

A Moment in Time (Intro)

Why bother!

I'm not saying that I didn't get caught up in this a bit, but then I searched my memory for the original, which cam out when I was pretty young. It starred Jimmy Stewart, who was a good deal more balanced than Dennis Quaid. There is nothing new here, other than a Mongol hoard and Mongolia itself. The point, of course, is to build a plane from carcass of the older, larger one. I think what was missing was true characterization. While everyone seemed to wear their emotions on their sleeves, they were like worker ants with little visible personality. At the beginning, the captain would rather let everyone die than put forth some effort. The in-fighting seems really strained. The characters who wander off don't seem to have reason other than it's the right thing to do. There is an ugly scene with a nomadic tribe. As if the process of getting out of the desert wasn't bad enough. There is also a problem with wear and tear on the principles involved. They seem to stay pretty healthy despite their hard work and the hopeless nature of their predicament. I'm not saying it's a bad movie. It's just not different enough or well acted enough to make it any better than the first.