In this slow-moving and painful melodrama, the viewer keeps waiting and waiting for something...anything...to happen that will change the tempo of a bleak and depressing "aftermath" of a tragic plane crash.
In the special features segment of the DVD, the filmmakers suggested that their goal was to create a "nuanced" and "visceral" cinematic experience. In the performance of Mr. Schwarzenegger as Roman Melynk, there was no doubt a strong visceral reaction to the loss of his wife and daughter, and that response was sustained throughout the film. But the film failed to evoke a "nuanced" response, remaining on a single emotional level, despite the passage of eleven years in Melynk's life.
The screenplay set up a parallel drama between Melynk and the aftermath of the distraught flight controller on whose watch the plane crash occurred. A shortcoming of the film was in the inability to make clear whether or not the controller, Jake Bonanos, ever did anything wrong. He certainly does not receive support from his employers, who urge him to move to another city and change his name! In fact, after nearly committing suicide, Jake Bonanos relocates far away from his family, becoming Pat Dealbert, travel agent! It is almost as if the poor schlub has entered into a kind of witness protection program.
The scene in the tower lacked credibility in that Jake was all alone in the nerve center of a major U.S. airport. Additionally, the incompetent technicians deserved scrutiny in the follow-up investigation for their negligence in distracting the flight controller and failing to fix the telephones that momentarily took Jake away from his post. These details are important, yet were never clarified in the film.
While the film was well-photographed and Mr. Schwarzenegger effectively carried the film as the brooding Roman Melynk, there were far too many clichés and stereotypes, including the airline officials who were not very believable as crisis counselors, vampire-like attorneys, a journalist with no integrity, and one-dimensional grieving souls who lost their loved ones. Sadly, there were not many insights into the grieving process. To the contrary, the film's main theme appeared to be revenge, as opposed to healing. In short, there needed to be much more nuance, which was one of the stated goals of the film artists.
In the special features segment of the DVD, the filmmakers suggested that their goal was to create a "nuanced" and "visceral" cinematic experience. In the performance of Mr. Schwarzenegger as Roman Melynk, there was no doubt a strong visceral reaction to the loss of his wife and daughter, and that response was sustained throughout the film. But the film failed to evoke a "nuanced" response, remaining on a single emotional level, despite the passage of eleven years in Melynk's life.
The screenplay set up a parallel drama between Melynk and the aftermath of the distraught flight controller on whose watch the plane crash occurred. A shortcoming of the film was in the inability to make clear whether or not the controller, Jake Bonanos, ever did anything wrong. He certainly does not receive support from his employers, who urge him to move to another city and change his name! In fact, after nearly committing suicide, Jake Bonanos relocates far away from his family, becoming Pat Dealbert, travel agent! It is almost as if the poor schlub has entered into a kind of witness protection program.
The scene in the tower lacked credibility in that Jake was all alone in the nerve center of a major U.S. airport. Additionally, the incompetent technicians deserved scrutiny in the follow-up investigation for their negligence in distracting the flight controller and failing to fix the telephones that momentarily took Jake away from his post. These details are important, yet were never clarified in the film.
While the film was well-photographed and Mr. Schwarzenegger effectively carried the film as the brooding Roman Melynk, there were far too many clichés and stereotypes, including the airline officials who were not very believable as crisis counselors, vampire-like attorneys, a journalist with no integrity, and one-dimensional grieving souls who lost their loved ones. Sadly, there were not many insights into the grieving process. To the contrary, the film's main theme appeared to be revenge, as opposed to healing. In short, there needed to be much more nuance, which was one of the stated goals of the film artists.