I found this film at Wal-Mart in the $1.00 bargain bin. I got my fair value, but would not have at a higher price. I was not familiar with the lead actors, since I was not a 'Baywatch' fan.
I must say that the continuity people really fell down on this film. The aircraft shown taking off is a short-haul Boeing 737, not capable of undertaking a trans-Atlantic flight with a full passenger load. The aircraft magically morphs into a Boeing 757 with a different paint scheme. A Boeing 757 is only marginally more suited for such a long flight. The computer graphics people could just as easily have produced a Boeing 777 that was designed for such service. In either case, the 737 and 757 are not fly-by-wire aircraft. The 777 is such an aircraft, but not controllable without computer assistance.
The trouble with the cargo door is another continuity rough spot. The failing cargo door initially is behind the wing. Later, it mysteriously becomes the cargo door ahead of the wing. The warning lights for an unsecured cargo door latch fail miserably. The pilots climb the aircraft to such an altitude that the pressure differential blows the door open and it is ripped from the aircraft. Such failures have caused actual crashes. The door fails, the cargo compartment decompresses, and the floor above it buckles. The buckled floor jams the cables to the tail controls and the aircraft becomes fatally uncontrollable in pitch.
The film cycles through the predictable interactions of the stock characters for such a drama. The murderer going home to face trial makes a trip to the lavatory and extracts a gun from the waste bin. He obviously had an accomplice to secrete the weapon there for him, but this development is never explained. He then volunteers to help save the aircraft and later voluntarily discards the weapon out the open cargo door. Sadly, his noble efforts lead to his demise from being sucked out of the open cargo door.
I had sort of settled into a dazed acceptance of this string of clichés when I spotted this beautiful Icelandic Air Traffic Controller being inserted into the plot. Leah Pinsent is obviously a natural blonde and perfectly gorgeous. She needs to work on her Scandanavian accent, however. She develops a personal relationship with the struggling pilot in about 25 minutes of professional contact over the radio. She shows up after the successful landing, hoping to meet the hero pilot in person. Her longing looks fall flat however when Alexandra Paul displays her prior claim to the hero with one embrace.
After viewing this film, I am considering starting a new career writing television screenplays. I need only crib my plot themes from hundreds of low-budget predecessors and piece them together like a quilt. I can pitch my first proposal as a melange of 'Desperate Housewives', 'Sex In The City', and 'Law And Order'. The producers can cast a lot of soap opera stars hoping to move up to television movies. I hope to cash my first big check before I actually wake up.
I must say that the continuity people really fell down on this film. The aircraft shown taking off is a short-haul Boeing 737, not capable of undertaking a trans-Atlantic flight with a full passenger load. The aircraft magically morphs into a Boeing 757 with a different paint scheme. A Boeing 757 is only marginally more suited for such a long flight. The computer graphics people could just as easily have produced a Boeing 777 that was designed for such service. In either case, the 737 and 757 are not fly-by-wire aircraft. The 777 is such an aircraft, but not controllable without computer assistance.
The trouble with the cargo door is another continuity rough spot. The failing cargo door initially is behind the wing. Later, it mysteriously becomes the cargo door ahead of the wing. The warning lights for an unsecured cargo door latch fail miserably. The pilots climb the aircraft to such an altitude that the pressure differential blows the door open and it is ripped from the aircraft. Such failures have caused actual crashes. The door fails, the cargo compartment decompresses, and the floor above it buckles. The buckled floor jams the cables to the tail controls and the aircraft becomes fatally uncontrollable in pitch.
The film cycles through the predictable interactions of the stock characters for such a drama. The murderer going home to face trial makes a trip to the lavatory and extracts a gun from the waste bin. He obviously had an accomplice to secrete the weapon there for him, but this development is never explained. He then volunteers to help save the aircraft and later voluntarily discards the weapon out the open cargo door. Sadly, his noble efforts lead to his demise from being sucked out of the open cargo door.
I had sort of settled into a dazed acceptance of this string of clichés when I spotted this beautiful Icelandic Air Traffic Controller being inserted into the plot. Leah Pinsent is obviously a natural blonde and perfectly gorgeous. She needs to work on her Scandanavian accent, however. She develops a personal relationship with the struggling pilot in about 25 minutes of professional contact over the radio. She shows up after the successful landing, hoping to meet the hero pilot in person. Her longing looks fall flat however when Alexandra Paul displays her prior claim to the hero with one embrace.
After viewing this film, I am considering starting a new career writing television screenplays. I need only crib my plot themes from hundreds of low-budget predecessors and piece them together like a quilt. I can pitch my first proposal as a melange of 'Desperate Housewives', 'Sex In The City', and 'Law And Order'. The producers can cast a lot of soap opera stars hoping to move up to television movies. I hope to cash my first big check before I actually wake up.