TURBULENCE
A film review by Walter Frith
Copyright 1997 Walter Frith
A lot of films play in limited release late every year to qualify for Oscar consideration and then go to wide release early in the new year.
'Turbulence' is not of those movies. It's an early year filler that studios have to get out of their system after the Christmas and New year holiday seasons have passed and this is one of the worst times of the year to see a new movie and this will go down as one of 1997's most badly made films. A serial killer, (Ray Liotta) and another federal prisoner are transferred on a commercial airliner from Kennedy airport in New York City to Los Angeles on Christmas Eve. The bad guys naturally get loose and sanity goes out the window as crime and mayhem break out aboard the plane. The flight crew is killed and the automatic pilot is activated and the long and short of it is that Liotta and a flight attendant (Lauren Holly) are left at odds with one another. To put it directly, this movie is a combination of just about every air disaster movie ever made but to make matters worse, the psychotic nature of Liotta's character has him spinning off ridiculous and unoriginal dialogue for cheap laughs and his character echoes that of one from almost any horror movie you can imagine. The movie has a dark and sadistic look from a grade B horror film to boot and its production design, special effects and camera work are on the amateur level at best. The failing of Ray Liotta's career in recent years is one of Hollywood's most puzzling mysteries. He had such marvelous promise in 'Something Wild' (1986), 'Field of Dreams' (1989) and of course his most impressive film 'GoodFellas' (1990). His last admirable piece of cinema was 'Unlawful Entry' (1992) in which he played the personification of evil as a corrupt police officer obsessed with another man's wife. I hope Liotta can resurrect his career as 'Corrina, Corrina' (1994), 'Jade' (1996) and now 'Turbulence' have all been major disappointments. As for Lauren Holly (Mrs. Jim Carrey), her biggest claim to fame was as Andrew Dice Clay's executive assistant in 'The Adventures of Ford Fairlane' (1990) and as the wealthy socialite in 'Dumb and Dumber' (1994).
'Turbulence' is a movie that deserves to take a dive, literally, at the box office and it's a film to be avoided at all costs as viewing it can be hazardous to your mental health.
OUT OF 5> zero
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