imPliCit BiGOtry

BY Ryan SyRek

Warning: Turbulence ahead. and To be clear, The Turbulence is laTenT racism. buckle your seaTbelTs. IMAGE: A stIll froM thE lIonsGAtE MovIE “Pl AnE”

“I cannot wait to make a bigoted super-dad movie!” Nah. Do I think writers JP Davis and Charles Cumming set out to massively underwrite every character and make armed international mercenaries like Blackwater look cool? I hope not. Do I think “Plane” is so inadequate as to allow for these

Siddhant Adlakha at IGN says: “It would be one thing if this were the basis for a farcical, blood-soaked beat-’em-up with ridiculous stylings, but ‘Plane’ stays grounded for the most part, making these racial optics even harder to problems to arise? You’re cleared for takeoff.

Here’s what happens: Brodie Torrance (Butler) is a pilot who has been relegated to crappy assignments after he justifiably choked out an unruly passenger shortly after his wife died. Dead avoid the few times the movie does try to indulge in gleeful violence.”

Kate Sánchez at But Why Tho? says: “Absurd, loud, and the best parts of ’90s action films, ‘Plane’ is just a damn good time.” women and sweaty grappling are two things “Plane” really loves. On New Year’s Eve, while trying to get home to his daughter, Brodie flies into bad weather and crashes on an island near the Philippines that is apparently ex- continued on page 34 

Louisa Moore at Screen Zealots says: “I had a great time watching ‘Plane,’ even if it is the type of movie that I probably won’t remember seeing by the time 2024 rolls around.” clusively inhabited by baddies who love taking hostages. Lucky for El Capitan, a stone-cold assassin dude happened to be on his flight.

Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter) was being extradited to America on a commercial airline, presumably because someone out there remembered the events of “Con Air.” He is accused of murder, which he admits, but does add that he has a whole different side to his story. That side is never presented. Thus, audiences are left with hoping that maybe he killed someone who deserved it, like an NFT trader or someone who writes mattress ads for podcasts. Brodie and Louis team up to free the passengers from the terrorists, and no one in the whole film gets to show any personality or say anything interesting ever.

Seriously, all dialogue is hyper-functional. Your liver will implode if you take a shot every time someone asks Brodie if he’s OK during the last 20 minutes. At that point, he has been beaten, shot twice, and looks like Dwayne Johnson’s least favorite gym sock. No, he’s not OK. But it’s all anyone can ask because anything more would require having a character deeper than “Human man,” “Human woman,” or “Person of color who kills people.”

Many people have laughed at the title for this film. “Plane” is, unquestionably, a profoundly stupid name. It is also all that was available. This script does not operate with adjectives. You cannot find a defining moment or characteristic. I tried to think of a better name while watching it, and I truly, genuinely couldn’t. Insofar as a movie’s title is supposed to reflect the film, it absolutely nails it. “Plane” is a lazy attempt to grab your attention that is too stupid to understand the problems it contains.