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Acclaimed Hollywood actor Denzel Washington has delivered many stellar performances throughout his illustrious acting career. The list includes Malcolm X, Training Day, The Great Debaters, American Gangster, and The Tragedy of Macbeth, to name a few. But one performance by the Oscar-winning actor in an underappreciated role flew under the radar for many cinephiles. We are talking about Flight (2012), which was helmed by Robert Zemeckis (Director of Back to the Future, Cast Away, Forrest Gump). Read on to know more about the film and why it is worth checking out.
Flight – Plot
The intense in-flight drama follows the story of an alcoholic commercial airline pilot, Captain Whip Whitaker (played by Denzel Washington), who struggles with alcohol addiction. In a flight from Orlando to Atlanta, when the airplane suffers from a mechanical fault, Whip takes over the flight controls from the co-pilot, miraculously crash-lands the plane, and saves many lives. He decides to overcome his addiction problem, but is soon embroiled in an investigation that might put his entire career in jeopardy, and faces potential imprisonment. The film also features Don Cheadle, Kelly Reilly, John Goodman, and Bruce Greenwood in supporting roles.
Flight – Critical Response & Audience Feedback
Flight received strong reviews from critics and earned praise from audiences as well. The film holds a critics’ score of 77% on the reviews aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. The RT critics’ consensus reads, “Robert Zemeckis makes a triumphant return to live-action cinema with Flight, a thoughtful and provocative character study propelled by a compelling performance from Denzel Washington.” On IMDb, the film has a user rating of 7.3/10. Moreover, Denzel Washington received an Oscar nomination for his spellbinding performance in the film.
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