Last weekend marked the release of “Flight,” which is now being hailed by most critics as Denzel Washington’s tour de force. No disagreement there.
But, unfortunately, it also should be hailed for another, much more obvious tour de force: product placement. In an unlikely upset (Vegas didn’t have odds on this, so bear with me), the amount of attention the average person will spend looking at brand names should, on average, eclipse the amount of time spent admiring Denzel Washington for his legendary performance.
And not everyone is happy about that. According to [an article in the St. Louis Business Journal](http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/morning_call/2012/11/anheuser-busch-upset-about-product.html) (look, everyone, actual research in a movie column!), Anheuser-Busch and Stolichnaya vodka have requested that “Flight” either obscure or remove their product entirely from the movie. Reportedly, Paramount never asked for permission to use either of their products in the film, and both sources have stated that they would have refused the offer if they had received one.
That isn’t really surprising. Without spoiling too much, the movie is about an alcoholic pilot. And I’m not using “alcoholic” in the “he drinks way too much at parties” sense. I’m using it in the “he was so drunk he never knew his own son and repeatedly flies a commercial airliner while completely smashed” sense. It doesn’t come as a big surprise that some alcohol distributors wouldn’t want their products associated with Denzel’s character.
But aside from the potential legal battle, “Flight” was an incredibly powerful movie.
The premise, which is basically spelled out in the previews, is that Captain Whip Whitaker is being charged with multiple counts of manslaughter after the plane he was flying while intoxicated crashes into the countryside. Between the struggles with his alcoholism and the investigation, “Flight” is extremely compelling.
As I’ve mentioned, Denzel Washington is the reason you should see this movie. Watching him perform is truly watching a masterful actor at his craft, and this is another performance I wouldn’t be surprised to see referenced again come Oscar season.
Kelly Reilly also turned in a compelling performance as Nicole, a struggling ex-heroin addict trying to help Captain Whitaker.
The movie as a whole, however, seemed to crumble beneath the weight of Denzel Washington. A minute doesn’t exist where he isn’t on screen. The biggest pro of the movie, Denzel’s performance, ends up becoming one of the movie’s largest cons.
Everything else seems to take a backseat to Denzel including, at times, the plot of the movie itself. A lot is going on in the background with the politics and legalities of the case that are simply glossed over to create more Denzel time. Obviously, the main character should be the one to steal the show, but it seemed like Denzel really ran away with it.
The only other real complaint about the movie would be the length. While nowhere near as dragged out as “Cloud Atlas,” “Flight” did manage to steal a whopping two hours and 18 minutes of my time. And those time is almost entirely controlled by Denzel Washington, interspersed by the occasional obvious product placement for a brand of alcohol.
Overall, “Flight” would get a definite 3.8 out of 5. I know I’m seriously skewing the rating system here, but I can’t earnestly give “Flight” a solid 4. As with “Cloud Atlas,” if it had been maybe half an hour shorter I could easily justify a higher rating, but there are a few times throughout where you may catch yourself zoning out.
Nevertheless, “Flight” is definitely not a movie that should be slept on. It does deliver an incredibly powerful performance with a heart-wrenching message underneath it all, and that should be enough reason to catch it either in theaters, or when it is released on DVD a few months from now.
