Flight of the Phoenix (2004) - Not bad for a remake

Then again, I’ve never seen the original, so there’s always going to be people out there who claim that the Dennis Quaid version doesn’t compare.  Maybe they’re right, but, seeing as I never saw it, I can only say that this modern version is a pretty fun action/adventure romp.

It’s about a plane that crashes in the desert and there’s no discernable help coming for them.  Therefore they’re left with the choices of just sitting there awaiting death, or rebuilding their stricken aircraft from scratch and flying out of there.  Guess what… they choose the latter.

However, it’s not an easy task.  Along with the natural lack of food and water, they have to contend with the elements, not to mention a tribe of gun-crazy nomads waiting to pick them off.

There’s a cast of about ten (including Dennis Quaid and Miranda Otto), so don’t expect every one of them to be really fully-fleshed.  A fair percentage are only there to find themselves lost in the desert or on the wrong end of a nomad’s bullet.  But, this isn’t about character.  Basically, the crew of ‘stereotypes’ are only there to fill a purpose, but so what – it’s still fun!

It’s slightly longer than your average film (about an hour and forty minutes), but it never seems to drag.  They crash pretty quickly and one disaster after the next moves the story along at a good pace.
Okay, so when the history books are written about great action/adventure films, the remake of ‘Flight of the Phoenix’ will probably never be mentioned.  However, that doesn’t mean it’s not a fun little ride if you’re in the mood.  Give it a go.  If you find it on telly, or streaming for free on an online site its value is even greater.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that