Big Idea

• A airline pilot lands his plane on an island in the Philippines in the middle of the storm
• The island is controlled by ruthless rebels
• There's an accused murderer on the plane
• Rated R
• Read more...

This pilot has a responsibility to keep his passengers alive 

Scottish actor Gerard Butler has three (soon to be four) films in the "Fallen" series, where he plays a government agent trying to protect the US president from various bad guys. These are straight-up, very successful action flicks that people wanted to see. "Plane" falls into the same mode. In this intense action film, Butler plays an airline pilot who lands his "Plane" on an island in the Philippines controlled by ruthless rebels. As the captain, he has the responsibility to keep his passengers alive.

Oh, there is an accused murderer on the "Plane" as well, as if the rebels were not enough to keep him busy.

Butler can pull off an action role with no problem. He has the face of a tough guy and an excellent physical presence on screen. Butler is helped by American actor Mike Colter as the accused man. Colter has a substantial list of credits but is usually in less prominent roles. I think his acting in "Plane" will push his career to a new, higher level.

Beautiful Daniella Pineda plays the head of the cabin staff. She recently had a spot in the new TV series "Tales of the Walking Dead," a Zombie story. She also played in the live-action version of "Cowboy Beebop."

French director Jean-Francois Richet bosses this action movie. He has a solid record in France and helmed the 2005 version of "Assault on Precinct 13."

Writers Charles Cumming and J.P. Davis penned the script. Cumming has written a bunch of well-received novels involving spies, violence, and skullduggery. "Plane" is his first screen credit.

There is a high body count, and not all of the dead people are the bad guys. The helpless passengers suffer as well. Director Richet keeps the action moving quickly. To his credit, he does not dwell on blood and gore. The deaths are frequent and vivid without sinking into what we see in cheap splatter movies.

I think action film fans will enjoy "Plane." We have a chance to root for the good guys.

As one of the producers, Gerard Butler allowed $25 million to make the film. For his sake, I hope people flock to the theaters to see his movie. This average shoot-um-up action film gets an average of three sawblades. The film runs for one hour and forty-seven minutes. It carries a strong R rating for loads of bloody violence and foul language.