Flight - Flying High with Denzel

We've all seen a dark and troubled Denzel Washington a few times.  He was so dark and ruthless in Training Day that he received an Oscar for Best Actor, although Glory (Best Supporting Actor Academy Award) and Malcolm X (Nomination for Best Actor Academy Award) are tied for my favorite Denzel movies which both feature him in various forms of darkness.  In the movie Flight, drugs and alcohol are his demons.

This is a tragic tale about an alcoholic pilot, Captain Whip Whitaker, (Denzel) who saves 96 out of 102 souls in a plane crash.  There was clearly a problem with the plane, but Captain Whip is on the hook due to his blood alcohol level.  He meets another troubled soul while in the hospital; a heroin addict named Nicole played by Kelly Reilly.  They become co-dependant lovers through this trying time.  She however gets help, while he hasn't quite seen the error of his ways yet.

The cast includes three of my favorite actors, Don Cheadle, John Goodman, and of course, DW.  Don Cheadle plays the lawyer who has been hired by the Pilots Union to keep Whip out of jail.  He's supposed to be a bad-arse lawyer, and although he has great lines, he doesn't deliver them the way I needed him to a la Olivia Pope (Not watching Scandal? Then you need to start ASAP).  John Goodman is the captain's bud and drug dealer.  His character is hilarious and probably my favorite in the movie.

I was extremely invested in Captain Whip Whitaker's recovery, and whether he was going to go to jail for his crimes or not.  I also felt sorry for him, and small part of me was hoping he got away with it.  At one point in the movie, I was silently rooting for him to put down the boos and walk away.  I won't tell you how it ends, but I did leave feeling satisfied with the outcome.  I also was very satisfied to see Denzel looking very yummy in his aviators and captain's uniform, not to mention the bare butt shot of his we get to ogle.  Flight isn't going down (no pun intended) as a great DW movie, but it is a must watch if you are a fan.  And, if you're not...do those people even exist?