Airspeed (1999)

After lightening strikes Flight 109, the only chance for survival is a young girl.

Director:

Robert Tinnell

Writers:

Richard Goudreau (screenplay), Roc LaFortune (screenplay)

Stars:

Elisha Cuthbert, Bronwen Booth, Joe Mantegna

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Elisha Cuthbert	...	Nicole Stone
Bronwen Booth	...	Andrea Prescott (as Bronwên Booth)
Joe Mantegna	...	Raymond Stone
Lynne Adams	...	Marylin Stone
Russell Yuen	...	Mark
Gordon Masten	...	Frank
Don Jordan	...	Pilot Greg
Martin Lacroix	...	Co-Pilot Terry
Yvan Ponton	...	Lee 'Bickster' Biquette
Charles Edwin Powell	...	Jeff, A.T.C. (as Charles Powell)
Larry Day	...	Donovan
Mélany Goudreau	...	Carrie
Roc LaFortune	...	Captain Lopez
Jason Cavalier	...	Steiger
Stéphane Lefebvre	...	Reynolds

Storyline

When the spoiled 13 year old Nicole is expelled from school for the third time, her super rich daddy has her brought home in his private 727. However, in a storm the airplane gets damaged and the pilots and crew are knocked out by loss of oxygen. So it's up to Nicole to fight for their lives. Her only help is a young air traffic controller who talks to her by radio.

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Plot Keywords:

child flying airplane | teenage girl | dysfunctional family | airplane | reference to brad pitt | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Lifetime

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 February 2000 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Air Speed - Sem Controle

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Airspeed Productions Inc., Melenny Productions, The Government of Canada Income Tax Credit Program

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Elisha Cuthbert in real life dislikes flying

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Goofs

An airplane flying through a thunderstorm has virtually no chance of being structurally damaged by a lightning strike. The lightning leaves a burn mark but nothing else.

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Crazy Credits

In Memory of Greg Maselli.

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Connections

References Airport 1975 (1974)

User Reviews

Moves, but not Moving

A Canadian (check the funny accents, eh) family action film that aspires to be a Cameron-esque drama headed by a teenage girl. She is the one conscious person aboard a private jet struck by lightning. Air traffic controllers on the ground and some military types in the air try to help her, first, get off the plane, then land it when she's stuck on it.

I don't have it in for this film as the previous posters. But I gotta say the staging of how this girl manages to be the only person on the plane to survive the lightning strike is, well, not good. Things get off to a rather shaky start to get the piece setup. After that, things move along, although a little less propelled by actual drama than a step by step chronicle of attempted solutions and subsequent problems.

Of course, a built in problem with this, esp. a family film, is that we never doubt the girl is going to be okay. Not that with any other conventional film we wouldn't expect something like that, but even with a "Airport '75", you know Charlton Heston is going to make it to the end of the film, but you're not sure he'll make it alive. So if this is going to work for you at all, you must be content going in that you absolutely know where it'll end:you're just along for the ride.

The young girl is adequate. Joe Mantenga seems to be acting while holding his mortgage payment in his hands. No one makes a strong impression, for good or ill, except one of the supporting players whose accent screams "North of the Border."