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Flight

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Flight

R

Released Nov 2, 2012

2h 18m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

77%

Tomatometer

240 Reviews

75%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Commercial airline pilot Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington) has a problem with drugs and alcohol, though so far he's managed to complete his flights safely. His luck runs out when a disastrous mechanical malfunction sends his plane hurtling toward the ground. Whip pulls off a miraculous crash-landing that results in only six lives lost. Shaken to the core, Whip vows to get sober -- but when the crash investigation exposes his addiction, he finds himself in an even worse situation.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Flight isn't an easy sit. It doesn't offer up comforting answers to the many questions it raises or deal in exaggerated platitudes an audience might find simplistically comforting.

Rated: 3.5/4

Apr 5, 2022

Full Review

Megan Burbank

Bitch Media

Flight proves, in a bad way, that believable characters are essential for all good movies.

Jan 14, 2021

Full Review

Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

While his performance here is perhaps not as introspective as it had the potential to become... it is off kilter from his more usual fare these days making it that much more memorable and compelling.

Rated: B+

Sep 7, 2017

Full Review

Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

The saving grace is in the performances.

Rated: 6/10

May 15, 2025

Full Review

Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

No actor I know working today can take a feather of character nuance and turn it into a moral fiber of steely resolve with merely a new look or a change of voice inflection the way Denzel can.

Rated: 5/5

Oct 13, 2024

Full Review

Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Led by Denzel Washington's top-notch performance in Flight, Robert Zemeckis' return to live action was worth the wait.

Rated: 4.5/5

Dec 28, 2022

Full Review

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Larry K

Denzel Washington is fantastic. Great movie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/31/25

Full Review

Mon B

Denzel is always worth watching, but the movie is very uneven. It feels like 3 or 4 different directors at different times were in there. You have to make up your mind if you want a cool Tarantino feel, or a Hallmark movie vibe. The relationship between Denzel and the girl he met in the hospital was totally unbelievable-that was bad writing. They had just met, then they were living together two seconds later, so ridiculous. Still, the flight scene was exciting, and the story mildly interesting. It's just frustrating when you see it could have been so much more.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

05/22/25

Full Review

Faiz D

Awesome film. It blew away my expectations. Denzel Washington's performance alone is reason enough to see the film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/13/25

Full Review

Ricardo B

Ancorado por uma hipnotizante e desoladora atuação de Denzel Washington, esse é um profundo e tocante estudo de personagem sobre alcoolismo e dependência química, principalmente graças a um roteiro muito bem escrito, que mergulha profundamente na conturbada psique de um alcoólatra, e à antenciosa direção de Robert Zemeckis, que extrai do roteiro e do protagonista cada gota — não ironicamente — de sentimento e emoção. "O Voo" é um show de narrativa e desenvolvimento de persnoagem.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/04/25

Full Review

patricia w

Kelly Rielly lights up the screen; as a used up; nothing left to lose heroin addict befriended by pilot Whip Whitaker. The film is dark; insightful about two people’s path of addiction. I love it! My favorite film of all time!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/23/24

Full Review

Matt W

This movie hits hard. I hate flying and I have a drinking problem. So this movie is triggering. But it's undeniably a great film and Denzel proves once again why he's one of the greatest actors of all time. This is a one and done film for me.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/20/24

Full Review

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Robert Zemeckis

Director

Denzel Washington

Whip Whitaker

Don Cheadle

Hugh Lang

Kelly Reilly

Nicole

John Goodman

Harling Mays

Bruce Greenwood

Charlie Anderson

Flight: Official Clip - Inverting the Plane

2:12

Flight: Official Clip - Brace for impact

2:12

Flight: Official Clip - A Little Pick Me Up

2:13

Flight: Official Clip - The Freefall

2:13

Flight: Official Clip - Chemo Brain

2:14

Flight: Official Clip - We're Talking Jail Time

2:14

Flight: Official Clip - I'm Drunk Right Now

2:10

Flight: Official Clip - I Drank Three Bottles

2:14

Flight: Official Clip - At Least I'm Sober

2:08

Flight: Official Clip - Love Is Taking Off

2:11

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Synopsis

Commercial airline pilot Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington) has a problem with drugs and alcohol, though so far he's managed to complete his flights safely. His luck runs out when a disastrous mechanical malfunction sends his plane hurtling toward the ground. Whip pulls off a miraculous crash-landing that results in only six lives lost. Shaken to the core, Whip vows to get sober -- but when the crash investigation exposes his addiction, he finds himself in an even worse situation.

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Producer: Walter F. Parkes, Laurie MacDonald, Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis, Jack Rapke
Screenwriter: John Gatins
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: ImageMovers, Parkes/MacDonald
Rating: R (Intense Action Sequence|Drug and Alcohol Abuse|Language|Sexuality/Nudity)
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 2, 2012, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 2, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $93.7M
Runtime: 2h 18m
Sound Mix: Datasat, Dolby Digital

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