Product Description

Rare, One Way Records release. tm126 NEW, SEALED!! FREE UPGRADE TO FIRST CLASS!!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #105158 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-04-16
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Customer Reviews

"Nothing Goes Wrong On My Flight!"
Of all the airplane disaster movies I have ever seen, "Rough Air" is the worst in every regard. As an airline pilot you would expect me to notice technical errors in the film, which is why I normally have a policy of not discussing them (this genre is loaded with manure), but the problem here is there isn't a single thing close enough to the real world to not discuss them.

The film is an insult to intelligence, and an ode to poor production values, starting with stock footage of just about every kind of airliner ever built. The premise is that Mike Hogan (Eric Roberts) almost had a disaster on his last flight (illustrated by newsreel footage of a 737 that landed with one on its main landing gear retracted; in real life nobody was injured and the aircraft was quickly repaired) and is now too traumatized to fly. To say that this whole bit (and what follows) is hokey is to dramatically understate the obvious. After a subplot about bringing professional soccer to the US (I told you it wasn't realistic...) we get to the meat of the movie: Hogan is needed as a last minute substitute First Officer on a transatlantic flight. Onboard are the typical cast of B-movie characters: annoying college students, uppity first class passengers, a murderer and his guard, and, of course, Hogan's ex-girlfriend, a Flight Attendant. It's Hogan's first flight since his horrific accident and he's not only scared, he is (of course) flying with a Captain who is a totally arrogant and self-important.

During pushback a cargo door won't close correctly, but the Captain is more worried about being on time, so they depart. During cruise there is a subplot about a loose handgun, a dangerous criminal on the loose, and looming aeronautical peril. Here's an abbreviated account of what happens next: the cargo door comes loose, they have a rapid decompression, they have "jammed controls", one engine ceases functioning, the rudder doesn't work (good luck with that engine out control, Hogan), and the Captain is tied to a seat in the cabin with flexible handcuffs, which yields both hysterical ranting from said Captain and hilarious public address announcements from "Acting Captain Mike Hogan." Could the film get more idiotic?

The short answer is yes, it could.

It turns out that they decide to divert to Iceland, and the prisoner is the only one onboard with a pilot's license, so he comes to the cockpit to help Hogan. Hogan does what every airline pilot would never consider doing: he leaves the prisoner as the only pilot in the cockpit while he goes down to inspect the cargo hold, which is, of course, not physically possible. About this time a computer engineer is called upon to help by using his laptop to hack into the evil fly-by-wire system which has taken over and is leading them into a terrible thunderstorm! (Not.) After that's dealt with, the computer programmer, prisoner, and a soccer player with a fear of flying go down to the cargo bin to "plug the hole" caused by the door ripping off because it's making so much drag that they won't get to Iceland. (I am not making any of this up.) Needless to say this is all quite dramatic.

Meanwhile up in the cockpit Hogan is rekindling romance with his ex-girlfriend, and also charming a sexy Icelandic air traffic controller with small talk. I bet you can't guess how it will end. Let me just say that it ends totally predictably, and the approach and landing melee may be one of the most painful scenes I have ever sat through.

In sum, this film is ludicrous at best, idiotic at worst. It features bottom of the barrel acting, a genuinely horrible script, inept direction, more B-movie characters and subplots than virtually any other movie in history, and makes for an excruciating viewing experience. If you want to practice rolling your eyes, this is a very useful tool, otherwise, avoid it at all costs, especially if you know anything about flying (or even know what an airplane looks like).

rough air
next to best of the best i rate this movie tops
eric roberts acting was heart moving.and the suspense
was great.
great landing eric and crew