Airborne (2013)

As I write this review, Airborne current has a - less than classy - 3.8 out of 10 rating on the Internet Movie Database, meaning it's pretty much of a stinker. I saw that rating before I watched it, so that possibly lowered my expectations of what was to come.I have to admit, I quite enjoyed it.Take a look at the poster. Take a look at the cast list. What do they tell you? Basically, you should know that this is little more than a low budget British thriller with no real stars. If you feel you can put up with that for just under an hour and a half, give it a go.Airborne is about an airliner which takes off from England, bound for America. There's not many passengers on it and soon there's even less when they start getting murdered one by one. There's plenty of red herrings and I doubt you'll guess what's really happening, as there are one or two nice twists. Of course for every plus point I can name, there are a fair few low points - lack of character development, daft writing here and there and a moment of sheer disbelief at the end.I know it wasn't great, but I still didn't think it was all together bad - definitely worth more than a lowly 3.8/10. About the only truly tragic thing about it was how much weight Mark Hamill has put on since he last wielded a lightsabre. I hope the Jedi order have a good weight-loss plan if he's going to reprise his role for Disney's episodes 7-9.

The beginning of the movie starts out decently. From the start, you sorta get a vague idea of each person on the plane. The story starts pretty quickly. Shortly after the plane takes off, the plot begins to unfold. I have to admit, the ending was almost sad, but the movie in its entirety was very pleasing. It was not slow. The characters could have been slightly more developed, but overall, I felt like I knew enough about them. I don't agree with it's 3.8 rating. I'd give it a five. It's not the greatest, but it had moments where I was a bit shocked or scared. The only thing I didn't like really was that I never felt a connection with any one character. By the end I felt for all of them who were still alive, but there was never one character that I was rooting for. There wasn't an emotional connection. Also, I feel like the mentioning of the myth that surrounds the vase should have been done earlier on so that the audience gets a better feel for whats going on. But of course, this is just my opinion.

Seeing Mark Hamill in the film Sushi Girl (2012) it was time to see just how well he had adapted outside the realms of the Star Wars franchise and into the wider circles of movie-making. Airborne, does, as first, seem a real low-budget turkey, while the settings and cast are somewhat minimal in stature the whole project here comes over as a well-executed and entertaining movie. While the character development may be a little thin on the ground, but there are a varied type and style of character here to give a broad outlet of play, it is the guessing-game and red herrings and plot diversions and masking what is really going on under the surface that keeps this film on tender hooks. This is throwing the hot potato around, not enough to confuse, but just enough to make distractions and assumptions, playing, and coxing the viewer into believing what they see is what they get. In addition, a very good musical score projects the tension and atmosphere to its relevant level that gives a good result all round. A group of characters' embark on a plane journey, from England to the USA, in some very poor weather conditions, and that's just the start of their troubles, as there are just as worrying concerns inside this metal-bird as evil takes control, in both its spiritual form and the physical. So continues the passing of claustrophobic paranoia and mystic legends that entwine to bring an exciting adventure in the sky. The plot itself is quite sufficient to keep the ball rolling, even if its weakest points are all too obvious. With the likes of Alan Ford (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - 1998), Billy Murray ("The Bill", Stalker - 2010), Andrew Shim (Dead Man's Shoes - 2004, This Is England - 2006), Julian Glover (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - 1989, The Halloween Kid - 2011 short) and Mr. Hamill, pushing it along with their respective personalities and charisma. It all makes up for a fun and rather exciting bout of tension and claustrophobic action. The resulting effort by writer Paul Chronnell (b.1968) and director Dominic Burns (b.1983) have created an impressive little number here and while no turkey this film does hold its own and can feather its bed in accountability for this particular genre.

Well, "Airborne" was nothing at all what I had expected.The story is about a plane upon which a small group of travelers and flight crew is trapped while some bizarre and macabre things happen around them.Well, the storyline in itself was unique and original, which was nice for a change, but on the other hand, it was just so unrealistic, stupid and far fetched that it was beyond comprehension.First of all, why would a major commercial airline send up an airplane in a storm that grounded all flights? And there was less than twenty people in total on the flight, including the staff. It was just so implausible.The characters in the movie were fair enough, actually, though I personally didn't fully grasp the way that they were behaving in the given situation, and a lot of the things that was done were so out there that I didn't buy into it for one second. The acting was actually alright, the actors and actresses just had some really outrageous characters and dialogue to work with.Despite these faults and flaws, then "Airborne" was actually fair enough entertainment, because I stuck around throughout the entire movie, wanting to see just what would happen next. However, that being said, this is hardly a movie that I will watch a second time. The movie is not scary, nor does it really manage to work out any great thrills or suspense. It is below average in every sense, unfortunately.