In Flight

There's no way to even include spoilers because nothing happened. I could tell what the ending was before the half hour mark and usually I'm impressed by that feat but this time I was disappointed because I guessed the ending and the movie decided it didn't want to elaborate. There's no payoff, no explanation, no reason, and it's a shame because the premise was intriguing. Good job not writing a story. The reviews here praising anything about the finished product is fabricated.

Girl gets drugged wakes up on plane. Tries to figure out what's going on. Fails. Gets invited to an unknown organization. Roll credits.

I so wanted to enjoy this film. The concept seemed interesting, and I really enjoyed Tiffany Smith. She's an actress with a lot of charisma and beauty. I can almost guarantee that the script of this project seemed much better than the eventual result, and I don't begrudge anyone who had a part in making this film. It was a gallant effort. But after the first twenty minutes, I realized that the delivery didn't measure up to the idea. The protagonist, Claire, made increasingly illogical decisions meant to advance the story, but ended up betraying her supposed intelligence and therefore undermining the rationale of the ending. The direction was weird. Objects--notes, for example, meant to give us clues, were out of focus. In fact, focus seemed to be the director's (or the cinematographer's) challenge throughout. I can only assume that shooting out of focus was a stylistic choice meant to communicate the mystery of the situation. But it didn't work. In the hands of another director, this movie might have worked. In this instance, unfortunately, this was a missed opportunity.

Let me just start with the synopsis... whoever wrote "... she catches the eye of a mysterious, handsome stranger.", is either blind or failing miserably at trying to be funny.

I am really sorry, but the guy is hideous.

The moment he comes on, right there and then I knew I was being taken for, the proverbial ride, as the short description of what the movie is about, was a ruse.

All bad reviews are correct: the story misses narrative, there are many holes, it is unintelligible at points...

Again, I am all for people starting from somewhere and being given opportunities, but there should be some supervision, as there are some major goofs which would not be there if an experienced director / producer / gaffer, etc... had been present at the time. Let me just point out two, very obvious:

• (I have NOTHING AGAINST Sandi McCree, who I did not know existed until I saw her here) No airline hires 5 foot hostesses. I already made this comment in the "Fight or Flight" review. But in this case, apart from short, the lady almost does not fit the aisles... I APOLOGIZE AGAIN for pointing out someone's shortcomings (no pun intended), but there is no way, in the real world, this lady would be a hostess;
• Only two people (host and hostess) for a 9 seat per row jet airliner, even though there were few people? In one of the scenes, we see the hostess go through 4 different spaces in the airplane. There would be AT LEAST two different teams, one for first class and another for coach...

I admit that, in the end, when You get the whole story (which is not very difficult... I mean... I knew what was going at about 1/3 of the film) the layout makes sense, but no one, in their right mind (and she is there because, apparently, she is gifted), would take too long to know that nothing made sense there...

And when the revelation occurs, that is when You really see how untalented these actors are. Monotonic, no depth, no feeling, no emotion... there's nothing there! They are regurgitating the script like a kid would read out the shopping list for this mother at the mall... just plain, flat out inexistent deliveries from ALL the cast.

This is just bad, man... some movies are not good, but allow You to spend some time at home with family, relaxing, whatever.... this one doesn't...

I found the movie to be utterly delightful, captivating me from beginning to end. The main actors delivered exceptional performances, each bringing their characters to life with such authenticity and depth. I must admit, I wasn't expecting the twist at the end; though I sensed something was amiss, I could not have predicted the specific outcome. This unexpected turn was a pleasant surprise that added layers to the narrative. Cristo Fernandez, in particular, stood out with his compelling performance. He infused the story with a great sense of mystery and an undercover vibe, keeping me interested. His portrayal was nothing short of mesmerizing. Overall, it was a really great movie that surpassed my expectations for sure!

Despite a slow beginning (problems with the screenplay, not the director, in my opnion), the story builds and manages to capture your attention thru to the clever ending. Bo Youngblood has done a respectable job on a total budget that was probably less than the cost of the first 5 minutes of 'Wicked'. This small gem is the cinematic equivalent of an 'escape room'. A suggestion: Instead of spending $40 to visit an escape room, stay home and pop some popcorn and rent this for $5.95 and have just as much fun. My grade: Screenplay: 6.5. Production values: 7.5 Director/Actors: 8. Overall entertainment: 7.5.