Flight review: Thrilling mid-air saga that does not crash

Writer-director Suraj Joshi’s Flight might remind you at times of Vikramaditya Motwane’s Trapped (2017) since, for a large part of its duration, it falls in the ‘survival film’ category. But Flight not only has a different storyline, but also belongs to a different genre. It is an out-and-out entertainer, though with an unusual storyline and setting.

The trailer only showed Ranveer Malhotra (Mohit Chadda) taking a flight that turns out to be a nightmare. The film is much more than that.

Adityaraj Aviation faces flak after one of its flights crashes and a number of passengers are killed. Ranveer runs the company now after taking over from his honest and idealistic father. He wants to provide a good amount of compensation to the families of the deceased passengers. However, the board of directors, which includes the cunning Raman Khanna (Zakir Hussain) and Nathwani (Viveck Vaswani), does not agree.

Ranveer has the backing of Balraj Singh (Pavan Malhotra), an important member of the company and a close friend of his late father. However, it is not clear if Ranveer is a positive character. There is something enigmatic about him. He leaves for Dubai in his private jet. On the flight he dozes off. When he wakes up, he is shocked to see the staff dead and things scattered here and there. He tries to contact the two pilots but to no avail. Is this the end for him?

Along with an interesting storyline, Flight is backed by a fast-paced screenplay with no dull moments. This, of course, is the basic requirement for films that aim to entertain. Joshi has kept tight control over things and ensured that even if the film appears escapist, it doesn’t veer off into mindlessness.

Often, thrillers tend to slow down a bit in the second half, but not Flight. In fact, the proceedings become more thrilling as Ranveer attempts to resolve his crisis. Without giving away any spoilers, suffice it to say that the story will continue in the second part due in 2023 titled Flight 2.

Chadda goes through the different moods of his character with ease. He does well in moments of sudden humour with his subtle comic timing. At times, you do wonder who would crack jokes in such a super serious situation, but then it goes well with the mood of the film. 

Pavan Malhotra’s experience is at play here as he goes through the tension, sorrow and uncertainty regarding Ranveer with conviction.

Of course, the film does take some creative liberties, particularly in the scene where a small blast takes place on board the flight. You wonder why the burning plane isn’t spotted by anyone during its long and struggling journey. We won’t reveal whether the flight crashes. But Flight the movie certainly does not.