Realism is thrown out of the window in favour of maximum excitement in this cheap rip-off of films like CON AIR, except this time the menace comes from Ray Liotta as a manic serial killer who just won't stay dead. Okay, so it's not good, but Liotta gives a nicely over the top performance which lifts this film above the standards it could otherwise have fallen to.
On the downside, the film is full of poor CGI animation which shows the plane flying. This is blatantly unrealistic and the film loses a lot of impact in this way, but that's what a tight budget can do for a film, I guess. Also, there are lots of things which happen which just wouldn't be possible in real life, like a jumbo jet flying upside down, or the plane flying through the top story of a building and yet having no signs of visible damage, let alone avoiding crashing.
As the film's heroine, Lauren Holly is passable, thankfully she doesn't have to scream too much, although she does do some pretty stupid things in the film like go and strap herself in a chair when she should be trying to land the plane. Liotta is by far the best thing in this film, I've been a fan of overacting for a while now and nobody is more intense and insane than this guy; the impact is better because at first he's a nice, pleasant and kind person. British actor Ben Cross, his career on the skids, turns up as a helpful commander, while Hector Elizondo is wasted as a detective hot on Liotta's trail.
Although passing as an action film, there are plenty of horror elements, such as loads of bodies falling out of shelves (think HALLOWEEN) and sitting in chairs. At the end, the film becomes DEAD CALM in the air, with the viewer repeatedly thinking that Liotta is dead, only for him to come back for another shock. My only complaint with this is that Liotta has a rather poor death scene, and is killed a bit too easily. I would have liked to see him get burnt or something and come back for a final attack, it would have been in the spirit of the thing, but that's just me. If you're a fan of bad films then TURBULENCE may just be the absurdity you're looking for.
On the downside, the film is full of poor CGI animation which shows the plane flying. This is blatantly unrealistic and the film loses a lot of impact in this way, but that's what a tight budget can do for a film, I guess. Also, there are lots of things which happen which just wouldn't be possible in real life, like a jumbo jet flying upside down, or the plane flying through the top story of a building and yet having no signs of visible damage, let alone avoiding crashing.
As the film's heroine, Lauren Holly is passable, thankfully she doesn't have to scream too much, although she does do some pretty stupid things in the film like go and strap herself in a chair when she should be trying to land the plane. Liotta is by far the best thing in this film, I've been a fan of overacting for a while now and nobody is more intense and insane than this guy; the impact is better because at first he's a nice, pleasant and kind person. British actor Ben Cross, his career on the skids, turns up as a helpful commander, while Hector Elizondo is wasted as a detective hot on Liotta's trail.
Although passing as an action film, there are plenty of horror elements, such as loads of bodies falling out of shelves (think HALLOWEEN) and sitting in chairs. At the end, the film becomes DEAD CALM in the air, with the viewer repeatedly thinking that Liotta is dead, only for him to come back for another shock. My only complaint with this is that Liotta has a rather poor death scene, and is killed a bit too easily. I would have liked to see him get burnt or something and come back for a final attack, it would have been in the spirit of the thing, but that's just me. If you're a fan of bad films then TURBULENCE may just be the absurdity you're looking for.