film: Flight of the Phoenix

Flight of the Phoenix 1/5

A plane encounters a huge sandstorm and crashes in the desert. The survivors have a limited supply of water and no hope for escape. But, then, someone has an idea – construct another plane using the broken one and fly everyone to safety!

By and large, the characters are not well developed or likeable. Dennis Quaid is once again, the crusty, grim jerk who no one likes. In one scene, we discover that a disgruntled survivor has trekked off on his own, which would result in certain death. This is the obligatory desert movie scene where our protagonist walks out into the blistering heat to find the survivor and return a hero…cue the dramatic music.



Giovanni Ribisi speaks up when all hope appears lost to suggest that he, as a designer of aircraft, can design a new plane that they can construct with the existing tools.

There is a twist involving the aircraft designer who is as arrogant and bullheaded, but also seemingly needy of praise. He clashes with the Dennis Quaid pilot character, but it and the small adventure with the local nomads provide too little spark for this lifeless, predictable drama.

Not a film that I would see again or recommend.



This is a remake of an apparently superior 1965 film of the same name starring Jimmy Stewart, and Richard Attenborough, about a plane that crashed in the Sahara.