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To mark the release of Plane on UK/ROI digital platforms
now, we present a list of five adrenaline-fuelled action movies that take
to the skies.
Throughout cinema history, planes have frequently played a prominent role
as the backdrop for action-packed movies, adeptly capturing feelings of
tension, danger, and claustrophobia that arise when characters are
confined to a limited space and face a variety of threats. The setting of
an aeroplane frequently highlights the action through claustrophobic
stories of survival, heroism, and resilience in the face of extreme
adversity, offering audiences an exciting and thrilling cinematic
experience.
The action-packed
Plane
features pilot Brodie Torrance (Gerard Butler) who expertly lands
his aircraft on a war-torn island to save his passengers from a lightning
strike. However, their troubles are far from over when the passengers are
taken captive by dangerous rebels. With limited options, Torrance must
rely on Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter), a convicted murderer being
transported by the FBI, to aid in the rescue mission. As they work
together, they uncover unexpected truths about Gaspare, and ultimately it
is up to both men to save the lives of everyone on board. With Gerard
Butler at his hard-hitting everyman best, and Mike Colter bringing the
muscle as his bruising back-up, Plane is one flight not to
be missed!
To mark the release of Plane on UK digital platforms now, we
present a list of five adrenaline-fuelled action movies that take to the
skies.
Top Gun (1986)
Now regarded as a pop culture phenomenon and one of the most successful
and beloved films of the 1980s, Tony Scott's
Top Gun is a high-octane thrill ride that depicts the might
of the US military complex against an unspecified enemy, embodying the
heady excesses of the era.
The film catapulted Tom Cruise to international stardom as
daredevil US Navy pilot Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, who undergoes an
intensive training course under the watchful eye of flight instructor
Charlotte Blackwood (Kelly McGillis) alongside a cohort of
memorable peers to take to the skies and defeat a common enemy all the
while navigating themes of love, friendship, and coming-of-age in the face
of adversity.
The legendary soundtrack, featuring hits like Kenny Loggins' Danger
Zone and Berlin's Take My Breath Away, adds to the film's enduring legacy,
as do the awe-inspiring aerial displays that continue to captivate
audiences to this day.
Top Gun was a juggernaut at the US box office and its
significance reverberated through the cultural landscape; as director Tony
Scott noted, "Its influence can be seen in everything from fashion to
music to politics." The movie even had a profound impact on a new
generation of navy pilots, who were encouraged to follow in the footsteps
of Maverick and pursue their dreams of flying!
Die Hard 2 (1990)
Taking place on Christmas Eve precisely two years after the thrilling
events of Die Hard, Renny Harlin's 1990 sequel sees Bruce Willis reprise his
iconic role as L.A.P.D police officer (now lieutenant) John McClane, who
once again finds himself inadvertently embroiled in a gripping high stakes
siege.
Harlin's film replicates the singular location of its predecessor,
transplanting the action from a towering skyscraper to Washington Dulles
Airport where McClane races against time to stop a group of merciless
terrorists hell-bent on freeing General Ramon Esperanza (Franco Nero), a despotic drug lord in the process of being extradited to the United
States. Fighting against ruthless foes and distrusting airport police and
military personnel, McClane uses his signature ingenuity and quick wit to
prevent imminent catastrophe as the fate of thousands of aeroplane
passengers, including his wife, hangs in the balance.
While much of Die Hard 2's action occurs within Washington Dulles Airport, as the film reaches
its electrifying crescendo, McClane emerges onto a snowy runway, battling
Colonel Stuart (William Sadler) in a gratifyingly memorable fight
sequence on the wings of Esperanza's escaping plane.
Surpassing the monumental success of Die Hard was no mean
feat but Harlin's sequel achieved just that, proving even more popular
with cinema-goers, amassing double the earnings of its predecessor and
ranking as the 7th highest-grossing picture of 1990. Yippee Fly-yay!
Executive Decision (1996)
The hijacking of a passenger airliner by a group of terrorists with a
vendetta against the United States forms the basis for
Stuart Baird's 1996 aviation thriller,
Executive Decision. The film concerns expert intelligence consultant Dr. David Grant (Kurt Russell) and his team of specialists faced with the daunting task of
infiltrating a hijacked plane and halting a terrorist plot to unleash a
deadly nerve gas over Washington D.C. In classic action movie fashion,
matters are complicated further when they discover a bomb aboard,
heightening the severity of the threat as Russell and his cohorts race
against time to defuse the bomb and save the day.
Boasting a star-studded cast including
Steven Seagal, John Leguizamo and Halle Berry,
Executive Decision touches on concepts of bravery,
selflessness, and the fight against terrorism while adding innovative
ideas to the well-traversed hijacked aircraft scenario via the team's
daring infiltration of a passenger plane. Russell's reluctant hero is easy
for audiences to root for and the surprising and untimely death of
Seagal's Lieutenant Colonel Austin Travis brings gravitas to proceedings,
considerably raising the film's already high stakes.
Air Force One (1997)
When it comes to on-screen depictions of fictional US presidents,
Harrison Ford's President James Marshall ranks as one of the
decided greats; a charismatic born leader and former Vietnam veteran who
isn't afraid to take decisive action when he discovers his flight aboard
Air Force One has been hijacked by terrorists on a return trip home from
Russia.
Orchestrating a fake mid-air escape, Marshall must band together with his
loyal crew to quash the terrorist threat while proving his political steel
as a strong and capable leader deserving of the presidential office.
Featuring an impressive cast that includes
Glenn Close, William H. Macy and Gary Oldman as Ford's
adversary, Ivan Korshunov, Air Force One showcases the
outstanding skill of Wolfgang Petersen at the peak of his
directorial powers as he deftly ratchets up the film's nail-biting tension
towards its thrilling climax.
The film would prove to be one of the most successful action movies of the
1990s, grossing over 300 million dollars at the US box office, more than
tripling its production costs. Ford's memorably heroic performance — who
else could deliver the now legendary "Get off my plane!" line with such
earnest conviction — and Petersen's masterful direction solidifies
Air Force One's status as one of the great action-thrillers of the 1990s.
Snakes on a Plane (2006)
Born from a modest screenplay by university administrator
David Dalessandro, Snakes on a Plane went through
several rewrites, revisions, and rejections over the course of a decade
before news of its attention-grabbing title attracted interest from an
ardent group of eager fans, snowballing into a full-blown internet
phenomenon.
Starring the inimitable Samuel L. Jackson as FBI agent Neville
Flynn, Snakes on a Plane follows Flynn, an agent tasked with
escorting and protecting a high-profile witness who must fly from Hawaii
to Los Angeles to testify against ruthless mob boss, Eddie Kim (Byron Lawson). As the film's title more than alludes to, all hell breaks loose when
one of Kim's goons releases a crate of venomous snakes on the outbound
flight, wreaking havoc on a multitude of colourful and unsuspecting
passengers and crew.
As the snakes infiltrate every nook and cranny of the cabin, dispatching
its occupants in various gruesome ways, Jackson's Flynn utters the now
infamous line which has gleefully come to define David R. Ellis'
film.
A film without pretension, Snakes on a Plane leans into its
B-Movie trappings proudly, effortlessly establishing its rightful place in
the pantheon of cult cinema while simultaneously kickstarting the craze
for a plethora of tongue-in-cheek creature features in the latter half of
the 2000s and beyond.
Lionsgate UK presents Plane on premium digital now.