Plane. Movie. Review. Good.

January is generally seen as a fallow time of year for film fans. Most studios are more focused on pumping out awards season contenders artful films with complicated views of the human condition.If you're in the mood for somethingmore straightforward, may I point you to the uncomplicated pleasures of Plane.

That's right.Plane.

Sure they could have called it "Terror at 30,000 Feet,""Turbulence" or "Runway of Death."

But Plane says what needs to be said. (The working title was The Plane.For real.)

It's a movie about a plane.A plane that falls out of the sky after a lightning strike, leading to a crash landing on a dangerous islandsouth of thePhilippines.

Now a movie such asPlane requires a hero.But who?It's a peculiar time for action stars. Bruce Willis'sactingdays are behind him.There's only so many kidnapping victims Liam Neesoncan save, while Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is more focused on feuding with DC.

The 'Old Navy'of action heroes

Enter Gerard Butler.The Old Navy store of action heroes.Like that old hoodie you find yourself coming back to, there's a worn-in quality to Butler that improves with age.The Scottish actor has come a long way since he and his abs aplenty bellowed "This is Sparta" in Frank Miller's300. At 53 years old, there's a rumpled andrugged presence to Butler thatsuits the put-upon characters he plays.

Through the yearshe's serviced a whole spectrum ofspectacular schlock fromthe unstoppable secret service agent Mike Banning of the Olympus has Fallenfranchise to the killer of Law Abiding Citizen.

Like Harrison Ford, Butler is at his best when things are at their worst.The jingoistic charms of bulletproof Mike Banning are fine, but Butler is better as anaverage Joe,such as the dad from the 2020's disaster film Greenland.

Plane finds himfirmly in John McClanemode, playing a pilottrying to get home in time for New Years for a long overdue reunion with his daughter.

When the aforementioned lightning strike derails those plans,the film pivots into survival mode.On the film's manifest is the requisite collection of thinly-sketched characters/passengers;the annoying business guy, the hothead European, the selfie-happy millennials. But at the back of the plane in handcuffs sits Louis Gaspare, a convicted murderer who is being extradited. Mike Colter plays Gaspare with a simmering stare. You may remember him from the Luke CageMarvel series or recently on the show Evil.

After the crash landing the passengers and crew face a new threat.The Jolo Island is home to awell-armed group of pirateswho fund their operations byhunting forhostages. Short on options, Captain Torrance (a former member of the RAF) soon joins forces with Gaspare, who just happens to have spent time with the French Legion (!)to save the day.

Not abromance

Plane is not an overly ambitiousfilm. Like the title, it knows what it wants to do and gets the job done. It would be overselling things to describe what Butler and Colterhave as a bromance. Insteadthere's a begrudging atmosphere of practicality.The jungle is filled with bad guys.Someone has taken thecivilians.Let's find them and kill them.

Director Jean-Francois Richet smoothly ratchets up the tension as the film cuts back home to airline headquarters whereTony Goldwynplays the fast-talkingcorporate troubleshooter who begins deployingresources,adding a team of mercenaries into the mix. Soon the body count and the tempo ofPlaneincreases.

While it would be a stretch to callPlane gritty, it takes its timeestablishingthe bona fides of theflight crew getting certain details right that will inevitably pay off later. The camera doesn't linger over the dire consequencesof the crash, instead moving quickly to the tale of the captain versus the captors.Witha brisk 107 minutes runtime, there's a sense of momentum that's refreshing in an age ofbloated three-hour blockbusters.

Inthe end,Plane delivers exactly what it promises. There is a plane and a pilot.Plenty of predicaments and asatisfying thrill ride that arrives with time to spare.