Like with Liam Neeson, Gerard Butler's recent filmography is its own subgenre: the dad who has to step up and save the day despite impossibly incredible, unrealistic odds. While Liam Neeson is unquestionably the better actor, Butler has found his niche as the action star in a super specific type of genre picture. Plane, his latest entry in this category, is neither the best nor the worst of Butler's. It is, however, probably the most average.
The one immediately noticeable aspect of Plane is that Butler uses his natural Scottish accent for his role. This may seem like a small detail, but there is something admirable about allowing Butler to use his natural, non-American voice in what is, in every other way, a very typical American action movie: generic villains, stock characters, and cliches galore. Butler is an actor who is seemingly perpetually stuck in the typecast role of generic action hero. To Butler's credit, here he is able to deliver probably the best possible performance from what is a ridiculous script. Somewhat unfortunately for Butler, co-star Mike Colter upstages him at every turn as the untrustworthy convict who must help save the day. As Marvel's titular "Luke Cage" in the short lived Netflix series, Colter proved he is one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood. Here, in another star turn, Colter's performance makes Plane both better than it should be and disappointing in how it underutilizes him. Any time Colter is onscreen the movie has unexpected energy; any time he's not onscreeen, the movie feels like a direct-to-DVD, subpar thriller from 2009. Saying this may seem like an insult to star Butler, but the ultimate problem is that all the characters, especially Butler, seem underdeveloped and cliched. There is rarely a moment where the audience is surprised by the motivations or development of the characters. While the film is never terrible by any means, it's hard to heartily recommend a movie that has such paper thin characterizations.
Plane has its charms. If nothing else, it's consistent in tone as an action thriller. It is never too campy or too self serious. At the same time, it never rises above a mid-tier, middle budget adventure. The action is competently shot yet rarely very exciting. The supporting performances from reliable actors like Tony Goldwyn, Joey Slotnick, and Paul Ben-Victor are better than the film probably deserves. The plot is never surprising. As a Netflix release, this probably would have been the talk of Twitter for a few days. As a 2023 theatrical release, however, it's rather underwhelming. I don't fault anyone for wanting to seek out Plane, and I think everyone involved wanted to deliver an entertaining flick, but the end result is a strictly mediocre time waster with just a few moments of genuine excitement. 5/10.
The one immediately noticeable aspect of Plane is that Butler uses his natural Scottish accent for his role. This may seem like a small detail, but there is something admirable about allowing Butler to use his natural, non-American voice in what is, in every other way, a very typical American action movie: generic villains, stock characters, and cliches galore. Butler is an actor who is seemingly perpetually stuck in the typecast role of generic action hero. To Butler's credit, here he is able to deliver probably the best possible performance from what is a ridiculous script. Somewhat unfortunately for Butler, co-star Mike Colter upstages him at every turn as the untrustworthy convict who must help save the day. As Marvel's titular "Luke Cage" in the short lived Netflix series, Colter proved he is one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood. Here, in another star turn, Colter's performance makes Plane both better than it should be and disappointing in how it underutilizes him. Any time Colter is onscreen the movie has unexpected energy; any time he's not onscreeen, the movie feels like a direct-to-DVD, subpar thriller from 2009. Saying this may seem like an insult to star Butler, but the ultimate problem is that all the characters, especially Butler, seem underdeveloped and cliched. There is rarely a moment where the audience is surprised by the motivations or development of the characters. While the film is never terrible by any means, it's hard to heartily recommend a movie that has such paper thin characterizations.
Plane has its charms. If nothing else, it's consistent in tone as an action thriller. It is never too campy or too self serious. At the same time, it never rises above a mid-tier, middle budget adventure. The action is competently shot yet rarely very exciting. The supporting performances from reliable actors like Tony Goldwyn, Joey Slotnick, and Paul Ben-Victor are better than the film probably deserves. The plot is never surprising. As a Netflix release, this probably would have been the talk of Twitter for a few days. As a 2023 theatrical release, however, it's rather underwhelming. I don't fault anyone for wanting to seek out Plane, and I think everyone involved wanted to deliver an entertaining flick, but the end result is a strictly mediocre time waster with just a few moments of genuine excitement. 5/10.