The Captain

First of all, I am not usually a fan of catastrophe movies because I get fed up with the angst and melodrama. This film, however, is a thrilling re-enactment of the airline catastrophe that really happened in China on a routine Sichuan Airlines flight from Chongqing to Lhasa on May 14, 2018. The story focuses on the struggle for survival, and is not diluted by backstories intended to make you care about anyone in particular. The plane was only about 40 minutes into the flight and had just reached 30,000 feet altitude and the Tibetan Plateau, when cracks first appeared in the cockpit's two front windscreen windows, followed immediately by their being shattered and blown out. It was horrifying to see one crewmember pulled out of the empty window frame, and thrashed mercilessly by the wind while his seatbelt prevents him from being completely sucked out. Then the fight for survival begins as the plane depressurizes and loses its oxygen, and chaos ensues. Scenes switch between (1) the cockpit and Captain's struggle to keep the plane under control and the co-pilot inside, (2) the passengers' cabin where the flight attendants live up to their professional training to get the panicking passengers calmed down and as safe as possible, and (3) outside views of the plane flying over spectacular mountains, and after turning the plane around to head back to safety, flying through a turbulent storm that makes weapons out of baggage and loose objects. In my opinion the special effects were good enough that I never felt that what I was seeing wasn't real. I appreciated the real pilots and stewardesses being shown at the end. Nice touch. Also, the music supported the action, and patriotic song at the end made me smile. In my opinion, it is a good thing to see people, regardless of country, portrayed as courageous, professional, heroic, and human. When we are being our best selves, we really are all that.

Don't expect anything like Denzel Washington's Flight film. This film's plot projects an air of unauthenticity even though it was inspired by true events. The mediocre acting of the passengers and laughable attempts to create dramatic situations, like the delayed response of KO'd flight attendant, made it worse.

Didn't know any of the actors or actresses in this true story, but still engaging as it kept me engaged to see how they made it through this emergency situation in the sky. Thought they did a good job of capturing each of the characters as well as the procedures that the crew goes through before boarding the plane, good teamwork.

An aaful movie, with corny dialogues, propagandistic drama, "Problems" that get resolved within 5 minutes and characters who dont add nothing to the argument. However, The visual effects and cgi were pretty good.

Dragged on a bit...a lot actually. The whole incident was 30 minutes shorter than the film. Too much back patting, hand shaking (do Chinese shake hands??) and cries of "miracle!" for me.

Loved the movie! It's fast paced and because it's based on a true story, the movie flows well without anything being forced into the storyline. The acting, cinematography are all good. Very entertaining and definitely highly recommend it!

Probably about as accurate at portraying China as Hollywood is at portraying the US. Pretty hokey overall but some interesting moments.

Don't trust the score (currently 96%) here. It seems that there was a campaign (likely originating in China) to inflate the score. Notice that the majority of the 4- and 5-star reviews were all submitted days apart. This is nowhere near a 96% movie (or even a 75% movie; I wouldn't be surprised if those critic reviews were bought, too). It's not an awful movie, but it's not very good, either. It stretches out a thin script with melodrama and sentimentality and ends by naming China's government agency in charge of civil aviation as one of the story's heroes, with a touted accident rate of 1/11th the global average (just like their reported laboratory accident rate, no doubt). If you are just really craving an airline disaster flick, it may satisfy that craving, but you shouldn't look at the scores and reviews and think that this is a really good movie that you shouldn't miss. I suggest that most people skip it.

A great movie. Wasn't sure I'd follow along but but with lines like "Ahhhhhh". put on your oxygen mask its easy to follow.

That is very good , from the real story worth to spend some time to watch this