The Flight of the Phoenix

Flight of the Phoenix - **

John Moore directs and Randy Quaid stars in "Flight of the Phoenix", the retelling of a classic 1965 film starring Jimmy Stewart. It tells the story of a group of people who are stranded in the Gobi desert when the plane that is supposed to carry them home crashes. Instead of waiting for a rescue plane that may or may not come, when a man (Giovanni Ribisi) claims he can rebuild the plane, they set out to put his plan into action. It's hard to say too much negative about Flight Of the Phoenix, yet it's impossible to recommend. While it does charm in its performance (most noteably the delightully twisted performance from Ribisi), and the visuals are stunning, there is not a shred of originality in its plot. This may have something to do with the fact that it's pretty much a verbatim retelling of the original, and if the 1998 Gus Van Sant retelling of Psycho tells us anything, it's that remaking classic 1960's films requires a level of retooling for modern success. This film is unable to do so, and reads as an outdated film that fails to build any drama at all, ending on a ridiculously cheesy visual and failing to surprise the audience once. Thumbs down.