5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best of the genre of "reenacted plane crash" movies!, March 14, 2003
This review is from: Florida Flight 90 [VHS] (VHS Tape)
This movie is one of the best of its genre as far as I am concerned. Though made for TV, a fair amount of research and money has gone into its production, evident from how close to the actual facts the movie is. Being a well documented true story, it's good to see the movie adhering to this. The writing and characterisation is very realistic - nothing two dimensional or superfluous here. It also follows the characters through a little of their day before and why they're travelling on this particular flight. You become emotionally attached and care about them, wondering who is going to live and who is going to die.
Brilliant performances from the cast only raise the picture further. Barry Corbin and Dinah Manoff both went on to successful sitcoms (Northern Exposure and Empty Nest respectively), and it's not surprising from their acting in this film. The on screen chemistry between Jamie Rose and Kate Vernon (as flight attendants) has to be seen to be believed. It's enough to make you think they were actually friends in real life, not just actors brought together for a movie. They truly become who they're portraying.
What really adds to the film is the detail. The same airline that actually crashed is featured in the movie, the same aircraft type, and the details as to why the plane crashed are added in a way that you'll notice without it being in your face or detrimental to the story flow. Impressively, the actual cockpit dialog from the flight is repeated almost verbatim in the movie. Finally, actual news footage of the rescue that day is incorporated into the acted out footage, adding a deal of realism rarely seen in "crash movies".
The only bad marks I can give the film is for the total unrealistic "crash" scene and the "cars on the bridge" are obviously not real and shot in a studio. The only other minor points are that the surviving Stewardess didn't have any "back-story" as the other survivors (and some of the victims) did.
Florida Flight 90 (or as I know it in Australia - Flight 90: Disaster On The Potomac) - definitely worth watching, and not one to miss - for plane buffs and movie buffs alike!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2.0 out of 5 stars
Some impactive scenes, December 3, 2010
This review is from: Florida Flight 90 [VHS] (VHS Tape)
If you can get past the TV movie style charactor build up there are some interesting scenes that recreate this famed tragedy. The VHS tape I bought of the movie from Amazon is of poor quality as it relates to presentation. When you start the tape it sort of jumps right into the beginning of the movie with the title looking like it was added on later in a real cheap editing process. It is also somewhat blurry and grainy. I burned it to disc out of pure frustration to no avail. I have seen this movie get high bids on ebay but the box cover was different. I don't know if the quality inside is better.
One scene that has always left an impact on me was when the two pilots knew the plane was going down after takeoff. After one pilot says, "were going down" the other says, "I know it". Very well done, it brings a realistic fear to it all. Far from being any type of classic movie though. If your into the genre, check it out, but don't expect the first hour or more to be riveting. It could definetely stand a re-release of higher quality along with a few other TV movies that look visually like no one gave a crap about them.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
