Flight

20122012
RR
2h 18m

Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, John Goodman, and Kelly Reilly in Flight (2012)

An airline pilot saves a flight from crashing, but an investigation into the malfunctions reveals something troubling.

Play trailer1:32

An airline pilot saves almost all his passengers on his malfunctioning airliner which eventually crashed, but an investigation into the accident reveals something troubling.An airline pilot saves almost all his passengers on his malfunctioning airliner which eventually crashed, but an investigation into the accident reveals something troubling.An airline pilot saves almost all his passengers on his malfunctioning airliner which eventually crashed, but an investigation into the accident reveals something troubling.

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 15 wins & 45 nominations total

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UK Trailer

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Denzel Washington in Flight (2012)

Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, and Bruce Greenwood in Flight (2012)

Denzel Washington in Flight (2012)

Denzel Washington in Flight (2012)

Denzel Washington in Flight (2012)

Denzel Washington in Flight (2012)

Denzel Washington and Bruce Greenwood in Flight (2012)

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Melissa Leo in Flight (2012)

Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, and Bruce Greenwood in Flight (2012)

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Whip Whitaker is a commuter airline pilot. While on a flight from Orlando to Atlanta something goes wrong and the plane starts to fly erratically. With little choice Whip crashes the plane and saves almost all on board. When he wakes up in the hospital, his friend from the airline union introduces him to a lawyer who tells him there's a chance he could face criminal charges because his blood test reveals that he was intoxicated with alcohol and cocaine. He denies being impaired, so while an investigation is underway, he is told to keep his act together. However, letting go of his addiction is not as easy as it seems... —Immanuel Ambhara

stewardess pilot airplane crash airplane pilot flight attendant 243 more

Genres
- Drama
- Thriller
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
- Rated R for drug and alcohol abuse, language, sexuality/nudity and an intense action sequence
Parents guide

Trivia
The accident in the film was inspired by a real-life disaster, the crash of Alaska Airlines 261 on January 31, 2000. Some dialogue in the film closely resembles the CVR transcript. Like in the film, the pilots of Alaska 261 rolled the airplane to an inverted position to try to stabilize the flight. Unlike the film, however, this did not assist them in recovering the aircraft. The root cause of the crash was found to be inadequate maintenance of the airplane's stabilizer "jackscrew," which caused its threads to wear down excessively and eventually jam the jackscrew. While the pilots were trying to reach Los Angeles for an emergency landing, the threads were ripped out and the stabilizer moved to a position that forced the plane into its fatal dive.

Goofs
The whites of Whip's eyes change from extremely bloodshot to normal in the first scene of him in the hospital after the crash.

Quotes
[last lines]
Will: This essay, the essay that I have to write, it's called, "The Most Fascinating Person That I've Never Met."
Whip: Okay.
Will: So,
[turns on his tape recorder]
Will: who are you?
Whip: That's a good question...

Connections
Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #21.22 (2012)

Soundtracks
Alcohol
Written by Stephen Duffy & Steven Page
Performed by Barenaked Ladies
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc.
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

Top review

9/10

Awesome Film. Blew away my expectations!

FLIGHT is a great film! In a day and age where almost all Hollywood movies try to thrill us with special effects and gore, FLIGHT 'soars' with extraordinary acting and a story that will change lives. I went not knowing really what to expect. A drama about a crashed airplane, right? Well this film is much much more. It is truth. Truth about life. Truth about addictions. Denzel Washington does an awesome, believable job as an alcoholic airplane captain, struggling with his addiction and accusations after the plane crash. John Goodman plays an interesting character and provides some laughs. Without giving too much away, I will say that if you like drama movies or Denzel, go see it. If you are, or know anyone who is struggling with an addiction of ANY KIND... go see it! It just might change your life. 9/10 A+

helpful•149

73

BigBudde
Nov 4, 2012

Budget
- $31,000,000 (estimated)
Gross US & Canada
- $93,772,375
Opening weekend US & Canada
- $24,900,566
- Nov 4, 2012
Gross worldwide
- $161,772,375

See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

Runtime
2 hours 18 minutes
Color
- Color
Sound mix
Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1

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