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Gerard Butler (left) and Mike Colter in The Plan. Lionsgate Pictures
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- " Airplane ," in theaters Friday, is a fun way to start the New Year. With a simple basic rub, Plan delivers everything it promises. Brody Torrance (Gerard Butler) flies from Singapore to Tokyo on New Year's Eve. A typhoon causes a power outage, forcing Brody to land on an island in the Philippines.
Brody, his crew and passengers find themselves in dire straits as the island is populated by separatist militias. Brody must warn the survivors of the new threat and alert the airline to send help.
The opening scene of The Storm is particularly poignant, as Brody is a pilot trying his best to control elements beyond his control. The first fatalities shown in the film are storm injuries.
Airplane is a survival adventure. Brody explains that the plane is uninhabitable due to the heat in the area, so those on board must build new shelters and distribute food and supplies.
Soon some separatists captured Brody. On the plane , Brody deals with violent passengers to protect himself, but not as a SWAT commando.
The scenes on the plane were filmed live. The camera pans to Brody to frame him and his opponent.
The camera pans to the end, but the shot is still long enough to show the viewer what is happening. Butler's other action films, such as Angel Has Fallen and The Player , were too choppy and convoluted to create the desired excitement.
Airplane is an R-rated action movie. The separatists brutally kill innocent people, but the heroes die more clearly when the tables are turned.
Brody is not the only Rambo or John McClane. Their main partner is Luis Gaspar (Mike Colter), a convict transferred to the flight.
Gaspar's background is gloomy. The error is probably innocent, and suffice it to say that the system is rigged.
This means that he is not yet in the mood to return to a repressive society, thus creating an uneasy tension with Gaspar Brody.
Before taking off, Brody makes a funny joke on the plane, so he conveys the seriousness of the situation, realizing the real danger to the passengers.
The airline sent a group of private mercenaries to help, but they were to play a secondary role. It's a Brody and Gaspare show where the passengers and crew get enough backstory that the viewer doesn't want anything bad to happen.
But not everyone can succeed. Some innocent characters must be sacrificed to others in order to be saved.
Militia leader Datu (Evan Dane Taylor) has an endless supply of men who do double duty. These soldiers are very difficult to avoid, and they are a lot of bad guys to take down in a satisfying way.
Survival is the highest instinct. With a plane crash and an armed militia, the character's survival is threatened by two threats.
The planes don't complicate the plot too much because the main issues are misleading. It's hard to make a tough action movie based on this movie.
Fred Topple, who attended the Ithaca College Film School, is a Los Angeles-based entertainment writer for UPI. A professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012. Learn more about careers in the entertainment industry.
