With films like Passenger 57, Executive Decision, Con Air and Air Force One scoring at the box office, the second half of the 1990’s was the age of the Action in an Airplane subgenre. All of them featured all featured action movie stars fighting off a terrorist attack while aboard a plane. None of them were great art but provided some solid action. Released in January of 1997, Robert Butler’s (The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes) Turbulence was a box office failure but later became a hit on home video.
It’s Christmas, and serial killer Ryan Weaver (Ray Liotta) is handcuffed and be transported from New York City to Los Angeles aboard a nearly empty plane to stand trial. Another guy in cuffs, named Stubbs (Brendan Gleeson) is put aboard the plane too. Four bored US marshals are accompanying them on the trip. An hour or so into the flight, while using the bathroom, Weaver breaks free of his handcuffs and Weaver the marshal that had been supervising him. In the ensuing chaos, the two criminals get rid of the remaining marshals and take control of the plane. Not long after that Weaver gets rid of Stubbs.
Much of the rest of Turbulence is predictable and poorly scripted. During the chaos, the two captains flying the plane are killed. Weaver has become completely unhinged, yet he allows one flight attendant, Teri Halloran (Lauren Holly) to stay with him and locks the remaining crew and passengers in a storage room. Of course he does. Every movie like this needs a hero. Its obvious just a few minutes in, Teri is that person. She starts of rather meek and mild but evolves into a confident badass.
The second half of the film is entirely predictable, and logic has been thrown out the window. Nonetheless, if you enjoy over the top action for the sake of it, Turbulence might have something to offer you. Ray Liotta leans into the craziness of it all, providing some fun moments. Having the stewardess instead of a US marshal save the day is a bit of a twist, and while Lauren Holly has never been a favorite of mine, she plays well off the craziness of Ray Liotta.
There are plenty of familiar faces here: Jeffrey Demunn, Hector Elizondo, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Hicks, John Finn, Michael Garney and Total Recall fans will recognize Rachel Ticotin.
Set at Christmas, some might want to add Turbulence to their holiday watching list!
Released by Kino Lorber, the film is presented in its original 1:85:1 aspect ratio, taken from a brand new HDR/Dolby Vision transfer created from a 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative. The result is a significant improvement over previous releases of the film. Like a lot of Kino’s 4K releases, fine detail and textures are well defined throughout. Colors are luminous, making the many Christmas lights sparkle. The Dolby Vision allows for extra inky blacks and wonderful contrast. There isn’t a hint of crushing or artifacts. Viewers should be very pleased with this transfer.
Kino offers two standard audio tracks on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. I viewed the entire film with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and thought it was great. The many action scenes provide a good sense of immersion throughout. Surround activity is solid, and effects are well mixed. Amid the action, dialogue is clean, clear and concise. Pops, crackles and other anomalies aren’t an issue.
English SDH subtitles are included.
The following extras are available:
On both UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray Disc:
- NEW!! Audio Commentary by Director Robert Butler, Moderated by Filmmaker Joe Begos
On Blu-ray disc only:
- Theatrical Trailer and TV Spots
