USA, 2004
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Tyrese Gibson, Giovanni Ribisi, Miranda Otto
Director: John Moore
20th Century Fox

There was no way I was going to watch the atrocious Jim Carrey vehicle LEMONY SNICKET’S SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS. No way in Hell. So what did that leave me with? The actioner FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX, a remake of a classic Jimmy Stewart pic——the lesser of two evils right? Wrong.

FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX is completely entertaining, engrossing, suspenseful and above all, extremely fun high-adventure. And no surprise, as it was directed by John Moore, who did the Owen Wilson war flick BEHIND ENEMY LINES, another film I had low expectations for but has ended up being one of my favorite action films ever. And sophomore slump be damned, Moore delivers once again.

Dennis Quaid is pilot Frank Towns, sent to the Mongolian wastelands to pick up the workers from a shutdown oil well. On the way home, they get sucked into the middle of a huge electrical dust storm (a visually stunning sequence) and crash land in the middle of the desert. With little food and very little water, Towns and the survivors, knowing full well that no one will probably come looking for them, do what they can to survive, but prepare for the worst.

As they await their doom, an odd little man named Elliot (Giovanni Ribisi) has a plan: using the parts of the plane that aren’t completely destroyed, they can build a new plane that will guide them to the next outpost. Realizing they have no other way out, they carry through with the scheme, all the while avoiding more storms, dehydration and a band of murderous marauders.

Sure the plot sounds pretty ludicrous, but on-screen it’s so damned enthralling to watch that you don’’t care. Quaid is in full on grizzled ***censored*** mode (and I thank him for it) and finally, Giovanni Ribisi is in a role where I don’t want to beat the living Hell out of him. The lovely Miranda Otto does a great job with her role as the token female, and the rest of the supporting cast admirably fills their roles with believability and humor.

If the kids want to go and watch Jim Carrey flail around in an ADDAMS FAMILY rip-off, let ‘em—! Drop them off while you go see a crowd-pleasing action film that (thank God) relies more on story and actual characters than grotesque, rubbery-faced idiots who talk out of their ***censored***.

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Louis Fowler is a frequent contributor to Cinema Eye and Hitch Magazine. He is the host of DAMAGED Hearing, Fridays at midnight on KRFC-FM and film critic for the Rocky Mountain Bullhorn. Oh yeah, he also has a blog!