A convicted murderer is escorted by marshals on a regular flight from Phoenix to Dallas. Shortly after take-off, two of his aides, traveling as ordinary passengers, take control of the flight and free him. He demands 20 million dollars in bonds upon landing. And a sick passenger, bad weather or mechanical problems won't stop him. Ruthless convicted murderer Peter Cronin (well played with lipsmacking wicked relish by Anthony Michael Hall) is being transported to prison on a commercial airliner. Trouble ensues when Cronin hijacks the plane and demands twenty million in bail bonds. It's up to FBI negotiator Deni Patton (a sturdy performance by Ally Sheedy) to keep things under control. <br/><br/>Director Charles Correll, working from a compact script by David Peckinpah, keeps the enjoyable and engrossing story moving along at a snappy pace, generates a good deal of tension, and stages some exciting last reel action with skill and flair. The sound acting by the able cast helps a lot: Michael Gross as good-hearted disabled Vietnam veteran Ben Horner, Casey Sander as the brave Steve Paulsen, Barbara Stock as gutsy captain Veronica Mitchell, Perry Lang as hard-nosed fed Frank Layton, Hudson Leick as Cronin's loyal accomplice Shayna Loring, David Graf as an obnoxious cowardly drunk, and James Brolin as easygoing copilot Ron Showman. Moreover, Hall has a ball portraying a real evil and dangerous bad guy. Worth a watch. Slick, well paced and sharply played, H:F285 is a competent and satisfying romp. Yes, it's just a re-hash of the Airport genre, but it manages to look and feel fresh thanks to a cast of actual actors (remember them?) and restrained direction that never attempts to overstep the modest budget.<br/><br/>The vast majority of the action takes place in the "forty feet long, thirty feet wide" cinema variety plane interior, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing as it induces mild viewer cabin fever after an hour or so.<br/><br/>If you enjoy watching sweaty balding A list actors stripping down to their vests and and blowing up, well, everything, then this isn't for you. However, if you enjoy character interplay, building tension that actually gets you involved in the story, and restrained - by Hollywood standards - resolution, give it a spin.
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354 weeks ago