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Flight poster

Flight

year 2012decade 10sdirector Robert Zemeckisgenre Drama

139 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Don Cheadle Hugh Lang
Kelly Reilly Nicole
John Goodman Harling Mays
Bruce Greenwood Charlie
Melissa Leo Ellen Block
Brian Geraghty Ken Evans
Tamara Tunie Margaret Thomason
Nadine Velazquez Katerina Marquez
Peter Gerety Avington Karr
Boni Yanagisawa Camelia Satou

Flight | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanhost Van Lathan
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Producer credits not yet identified.

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

Romance lacks a defining scene; epilogue too reassuring; no weak link also offered

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:07:33Read transcript
  • Goodman appears less than remembered. The romance is criticized as an incompatible second film, but defended because Whip cannot sustain a relationship and the viewer stays trapped in his uncomfortable perspective.
  • Growing affection resembles Cast Away, but the prison speech and son’s visit may provide an overly reassuring epilogue.
  • The romance lacks a great defining scene despite rich setup. A counterreading says Nicole cannot rescue Whip and escapes after recognizing his abuse; the cruel confrontation is praised for restoring her dignity.
  • Other participants report no weak link.

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Whip unfairly punished; purgatory theory; Nicole should accept the adult-film offer; cocaine joke

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:08:58Read transcript
  • One view argues Whip was unfairly punished after saving almost everyone; his intoxication may have reduced fear. Others distinguish successful results from moral culpability. The request that Margaret protect him is a favorite example.
  • A theory proposes that Nicole and Whip are dead and the film depicts purgatory. The overdose, congregation, apparent hospital apparition, religious language, television images and glowing minibar support the reading, explicitly not asserted as filmmaker intent.
  • A provocative take argues Nicole should have accepted the porn offer, defending sex work and the filmmakers’ artistic pitch; others question the directors’ treatment of her.
  • Cocaine is jokingly defended for helping Whip function; the remark is a comic interpretation of the plot, not health advice.

What’s Aged the Best?

Washington’s damaged performance; crash staging; Reilly; smoking; SouthJet; souls; stroke-bags phrase; porn-set scene

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:15:34Read transcript
  • Washington’s unglamorous, vulnerable performance contrasts with Alonzo’s swagger: addiction makes Whip cruel, physically worn and unpleasant without romanticizing intoxication.
  • Damaged Washington characters remain compelling; he allowed himself to age out of the handsome leading-man image and expand his roles. His private ranking and preparation are wondered about without answers.
  • The crash’s visual effects feel practical and unforgettable, compared with Jurassic Park, The Dark Knight and The Matrix; the silent glide toward the church is especially admired. Whether any real plane inverted is uncertain.
  • The first half-hour and Whip breathing oxygen while hungover are praised; IVs are imagined as a modern substitute.
  • Washington is praised as a great screen smoker, alongside De Niro, Liotta, Pacino, Mickey Rourke and Edie Falco in an unranked Mount Smokemore exchange.
  • Reilly is named as aged best, and the crash’s apparently practical staging remains exceptional. A recreational cocaine resurgence in the 2010s is claimed without detailed evidence.
  • SouthJet is a convincing low-end airline name; Whip’s career trajectory suggests stalled advancement. Calling passengers souls adds gravity.
  • The phrase stroke bags remains funny even as physical pornography magazines become dated; the made-up magazine title is corrected.
  • The trailer works despite a familiar Stones cue. Nicole visiting the porn set for The Beast with Two Backs inspires interest in a separate film about that production.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Hotel relapse through Goodman; crash; opening

In the discussion (16)
Approx. transcript time · 00:38:47Read transcript
  • The opening hotel scene and Nadine Velazquez’s nudity made a striking theatrical impression; its importance later in the story and the abrupt cocaine-to-Feelin’ Alright transition are praised.
  • The takeoff toward a sliver of sunshine and the nine-minute crash are praised, especially Whip’s calm amid the copilot’s panic and technical dialogue.
  • Whip’s instruction that Margaret record a farewell to her son gives the crash its human center and displays his extraordinary awareness.
  • A flight attendant’s death while helping a child is distressing, with her body thrown about during inversion.
  • The crew member’s tumbling body seems almost like an Airplane gag despite the tragedy; the clipped church cross and baptism water foreground religious symbolism.
  • Whip’s bloodshot, concussed hospital awakening contrasts the crash’s noise with stunned silence and grief over the deaths.
  • The stairwell meeting with the gaunt cancer patient is an admired philosophical center; James Badge Dale’s Departed role prompts a desire for more setup there.
  • Cheadle confronting Whip over the toxicology report punctures his entitlement and warns both protagonist and audience about the stakes.
  • Margaret’s funeral confrontation and the intensely religious hospitalized copilot/wife are favorites; even survivors’ serious injuries are frightening.
  • Cheadle’s desperate warning beside the reconstructed aircraft highlights Whip’s continued drinking; the plane’s incomplete reassembly mirrors his broken state.
  • The adjoining hotel room’s temptation, relapse and morning discovery create unbearable suspense even on repeat viewings. The minibar’s abundance seems almost supernatural, and the whole stretch through Goodman is one vote.
  • Goodman’s first hospital visit with cigarettes and magazines is another nominee; his later Banana Boat rescue dominates through furious energy, expertise, payment demands and exit. The nickname’s origin inspires mock training-course jokes.
  • The testimony confession and I’m drunk right now line complete the collapse of Whip’s lies; addiction audiences reportedly find the minibar especially truthful.
  • Melissa Leo’s recurring Washington collaborations are wondered about, and the prison speech about sobriety and freedom is praised.
  • Final preferences split among the hotel-to-Goodman stretch, the crash and the opening; one apparent crash vote immediately changes to the opening.
  • Van confirms the opening as his honest choice; Craig’s family-viewing anecdote illustrates its awkwardness. Thus the three core choices remain hotel stretch, crash and opening.

The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot

Hotel opening; glide toward church; inverted plane; bottle snatch

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:41:51Read transcript
  • The distant single-camera hotel setup captures Whip’s chaotic combination of sex, substance use and family responsibilities; an award nomination is explicitly qualified.
  • The slow-motion glide toward the church, inverted plane over the hotel and lingering bottle before Whip snatches it are separate choices.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Dated magazines; generic soundtrack; awkward runtime; Dr. Umar joke

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:01Read transcript
  • Printed pornography magazines are called obsolete.
  • The conventional soundtrack and an awkward middle-length cut are criticized; both a shorter and longer version might have worked better.
  • A joke suggests that Dr. Umar’s opposition makes interracial screen romances harder to defend; the others say they cannot respond or do not know the reference.

Apex Mountain

Nadine Velazquez; Zemeckis plane crashes; hotel minibars

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:28:07Read transcript
  • Washington and Reilly are rejected; Velazquez is affirmed alongside her My Name Is Earl visibility.
  • Zemeckis plane crashes favors Flight over Cast Away for its step-by-step suspense.
  • Addiction movies is disputed against Leaving Las Vegas, Trainspotting and Requiem for a Dream, with Leaving Las Vegas favored for awards.
  • Post-Roseanne Goodman loses to The Big Lebowski and other work; Atlanta is rejected. Cocaine as a positive force gets joking assent, named heroin batches and magazines are floated, and hotel minibars receive an explicit yes.

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Navy prequel; prestige series; prison sequel

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:34:54Read transcript
  • A Navy prequel about Whip and Charlie, a prestige series and a prison sequel are proposed. Shot Caller and a future prison-movie theme are discussed as prospective programming.

Is This Movie Better With…?

Samuel L. Jackson; Byron Mayo; Harling Mays in earlier films

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:35:36Read transcript
  • Harling Mays is already present and disqualified; Samuel L. Jackson as Whip would be much funnier.
  • Jackson is also preferred as Harling Mays; Wayne Jenkins is judged redundant. Harling is imagined in past films such as Saving Private Ryan, and Byron Mayo in the opening room.
  • Another Byron Mayo opening-scene impersonation is offered.

Just One Oscar

Washington; screenplay

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:37:10Read transcript
  • Washington is the initial choice, with a strong competing case for John Gatins’s screenplay and its original, memorable characters.

Who Won the Movie?

Not stated

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:43:36Read transcript
  • The winner question is raised, but no candidate is represented in the transcript before the turn to producer Craig. No ballot is inferred.