Customer Reviews

Turbulence

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Admittedly TURBULENCE suffers from a woeful lack of originality, which caused it to be a flop as a big Christmas theatrical release. But it does have an atmosphere that is, at times, effectively creepy. For example: the dead bodies sliding around the 747's cabin in the storm provide truly chilling visuals. This could be an old ghost ship at sea, its crew dead, the auto-pilot replacing the rope tied to the wheel to keep the bow pointed into the wind.

I don't know why the reviewers here have slammed the acting and effects. The performances are NOT wooden and the special effects ARE well done. Ray Liotta is gleefully maniacal and Lauren Holly is likeable and attractive. The climax at LAX is suspenseful.

I think one reason many people don't enjoy this movie is because of unmet expectations based on genre. People go in expecting something along the lines of AIRFORCE ONE, yet TURBULENCE is 75% psychological drama and 25% action-special-effects thriller. I personally enjoyed the cat and mouse games between the Liotta and Holly characters, but understand how others might find their conversations makes the film seem "talky."

It's certainly not a great film, but it's not THAT bad!

TURBULENCE, directed by Robert Butler, is one of those escapist movies where you can't focus too much on the plot or the pure stupidity of the writers. Here's some thoughts:
THE SCRIPT: Does well, even though it's not hard to see from the beginning that Liotta's character is as evil as Elizondo's says he is---big problem, though: the writer has Lauren Holly doing some really stupid things, like leaving the cockpit, engaging in a conversation with her would-be killer, and frequently disregarding the people who are trying to land the plane! SCORE: 2
THE CAST: Ray Liotta goes over the top, but he's such a commanding actor that it works beautifully; Lauren Holly does well considering what the script does to her character; Rachel Ticoctin is warm and fuzzy as one of the flight navigators; Catherine Hicks (Child's Play) does a good job and doesn't deserve what happens to her, either; and Brendan Gleeson(28 Days Later) is vile as the prisoner who starts the whole mess. SCORE: 4
TECHNICALLY: Special fx are not overwhelming, but good; the scene where the plane crashes into the karaoke bar is stunning; the direction is fast-paced, but he should have strangled the writer; good sound editing. SCORE: 4

SUMMARY: Entertaining "Hollywood" movie; not as bad as some others felt.

you've all seen movies where the bad guys seize the plane and reck havoc like in Con Air, Air Force One, Executive Decision and so forth. Liotta is dynamite in a tour-de-force performance as he kills off everyone on the plan except a few and Lauren Holly who has trouble dealing with the fact that a psycho is trying to kill her and she doesnt know how to land the damn plane. intense, violent and that is good enough for me.

In this movie Ray Liotta plays a psycho serial killer who is being transported cross country by four federal marshalls. He
escapes,in the process killing the four marshalls as well as every passenger on the plane. A flight attendent is the only person left alive on the plane. She is pursued by the psycho serial killer.She finally makes a link with a pilot on the ground
who talks her into sucessfully landing the big jet. She lands after several interruptions from the psycho serial killer.The

serial killer provides a great deal of excitement and action during the movie.The scary action makes the movie worth sitting
through and watching. An entertaining movie.

First of all, this movie is not as bad as many people said and not as dumb as you would appreciate from the storyline (which I'm sure you know). I saw it for the first time yesterday on TV and that's what it's good for - Friday night chill-out, when you don't want to think of anything, just sit before the TV, nearly falling asleep and concentrating on something that doesn't make you wonder what's going to happen next.

There's only one point where the movie fails. After watching it I wondered that it could have been done much better with this cast. We all know Ray Liotta and he's the perfect psycho - though this time a bit overplayed - anyway not annoyingly. Lauren Holly is cute and from the shy stewardess she becomes the 'captain' and an Amazon - she made her part absolutely believable. The rest is OK, too.

This movie could have been a perfect shocker - two people on a plane in a turbulence (a killer and a possible victim) - and only one can survive or both die. The director didn't take advantage of the claustrophobic setting and thrilled the audience only with the usual clichés - which are absolutely boring as we all know them. Would he have had a little fantasy, with this cast he could have directed a much better movie.

Anyway, it's not that bad and for a lazy Friday evening this is a good movie, if you don't expect too much and switch off the IQ switch in your brain - that's what Fridays are for :)).

When a Psychopath Murderer and Rapist (Ray Liotta in a Over the Top Performance) abord in a airplane with U.S. Marshalls to fly from New York to Los Angeles to be in Death Penality. When one of the Convicts (Brendon Gleeson) killed four of the U.S. Marshalls and Two of the Pilots of the airplane. When the Psychopath gets loose on the plane, he slowly terrorise the crew of the plane and passegers. A feisty flight attendant (Lauren Holly), she could be the only one to stop the Psychopath and flying the plane to land in Los Angeles.

Directed by Robert Butler (Up the Creek) made an Outrageous, Entertaining Thriller that destined to be a Camp Classic. DVD`s has an clean anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1) transfer and an sharp Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. A Box Office flop in the winter of 1997. This film did better on Video than it did in Theaters. An fun (If far-featched) action-thriller. Orignally Filmed in Panavision. Grade:B+.

Too bad I can not give Turbulence no stars. This movie is just filled with way too many things that just stretch even the most liberal imaginations well past the limits of reality! The whole movie just does not work. The FBI agents are too easily overcome and out smarted by a self professed genius serial killer whose one dimensional actions make his IQ seem incredibly average to me. Rather than being very smart the serial killer seemed a self absorbed slob who is overly impressed with his own lame exploits. The rest of the airplane passengers seem like fawns or sheep. Logic suggests when transporting a dangerous horde of hardened criminals the crew would be a select group of individuals hand picked for their skill at dealing with a plane full of diseased brilliant minded malefactors.

The plot is obviously concocted to introduce fawn like ladies and foppish men into the mix so the audience has a heightened thrill factor. Problem is the other non-law enforcement passengers seem inserted into the plot for no good reason other than their role as pawns to be used by the serial killer to drag an otherwise painfully predictable lifeless story along to its all too formulaic end. Also the Christmas lights festooned all over the plane when you are carrying hardcore prisoners is so over the top that you must wonder what the heck were the writers thinking. Most hardcore prisoners are quite intelligent and could certainly turn all those dangling Christmas lights to their advantage in some vile criminal way. No FBI agent or corrections officer worth his or her salt would let a prisoner set foot in a plane that had so many opportunities for prisoners to escape their direct care custody and control.

Also the most glaring flaw in Turbulence occurs when even the most basic tenants of maintaining care custody and control of violent malignant inmates were overlooked again and again. The Plane skimming over buildings through rooftops into structures was just plain stupid. While most tall buildings roof top garden rooms and associated elements are lightly constructed they must stand up to high winds. Add that buildings the plane was scraping had mechanical equipment towers where strong girders and supports reside that should have broken the plane up or at least damaged it more than was shown. It is like the writers of Turbulence were a bunch of college drama students drunk and totally detached from reality got challenged to come up with a disaster thriller plot. Drama for drama's sake without any plausible relationship to reality is not thrilling or action adventure it is just disjointed stupid garbage. Turbulence is just garbage to watch when you have time to waste. If you want real suspense on a plane get Air Force One. Turbulence is an invitation to take a round trip to and from Palooka-Ville, the plane has plenty of seats available but who cares!. This Turbulence is just a bumpy ride that leaves you feeling sick. I can think of better ways to spend time.

This is the worst DVD I've ever seen (and I sat through 'Dracula: Dead and Loving It!'). Completely unrealistic and contrived. I will relate a few of the many things that bugged me:

1) The fire hazard Christmas lights strung up all over the interior of the 747. Yeah right!

2) The rapist/killer psychopath easily overpowers about 10 FBI agents. Sure.

3) OH NO! No one left to fly the plane! (Yawn!)

4) About 20 passengers on a 747 flight near Christmas, among 400 empty seats. Next time you cram onto a jam packed, holiday season commercial flight, think about that.

5) The psychopath easily gains the sympathy of Lauren Holly. Please.

6) I saved the best for last. Watch for the prolonged 'flying upside down' scene where the killer and Holly wrestle on the ceiling of the aircraft as the plane flies upside down. This goes on for about 5 minutes. Then watch the killer stroll up to first class, sit down, and casually pick up an UNSPILLED MARTINI! So funny. But that's Turbulence. Unrealistic all the way, with plot holes big enough to drive a train through.

If you value good moviemaking, pass this one by.

Handsome Ray Liotta, convicted serial rapist-murderer, may be a good guy after all. That's how it looks at one point, when he saves the lives of some innocent people by killing a bad guy. But that's not where the movie takes us. Ray Liotta turns out to be a sadistic murderer, and it's up to our hero to stop him. Our hero is stewardess Lauren Holly. Guess whether or not she wins. And while you are at it, guess whether or not she lands the plane successfully by herself. The best thing about this movie is that it holds your interest. The worst thing about it is that it is all so obvious and predictable, same old same old.

We might know "Airport 75" right? Now Twenty Three years later, we have "Turbulence." Both are 747s, both have no pilots, both have to make emergency landing. This movie should have been aptly named "Airport 97." The only actor that could take a beating was the 747 itself. Everyone else was clueless and unrealistic. Only if stewardesses were given pilot licenses. Lauren Holly didn't need the hairspray that Karen Black needed in 75.