Not since Paul Greengrass sat us in coach for his 9/11 drama United 93 has a filmmaker so effectively summoned up the primal fears that, for the less air-worthy of us, lurk beneath every lurch, every "fasten your seat belts" warning.
At a certain point, great actors want to show us the truth of something that may be far from their lives but that somehow they understand, intimately, all too well.
Zemeckis has enough control as a filmmaker to overshadow Flight's structural problems, thus making the film both crowd-pleasing and emotionally involving.
It succeeds as a carefully balanced cocktail of uppers and downers, of the type favored by its hero. You'll have a good night out, even if you don't remember it in the morning.
Between Washington's singular performance and Zemeckis' extraordinary direction, "Flight" sees one of the more revelatory actor/director combinations in recent memory.
'Flight' is predictable in its plotting and soft in its conclusions. But thanks to that dynamite opening and Washington's effortless performance, it's also an enjoyable, compelling slice of old-school melodrama.
