There have been plenty of horrifying Hollywood plane crashes over the years. You only have to look to movies as recent as The Dark Knight Rises and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 for examples. Airplane! even spoofed this kind of movie scene way, way back in 1980; proving how often Hollywood used the terror of the potential plane crash to conjure up excitement in the movies. But no movie has so convincingly portrayed the terror of a doomed public airplane quite like Robert Zemeckis' Flight - a 2012 release with Hollywood star Denzel Washington clenched-up in the pilot seat. It is Washington's character - the troubled alcoholic Whip Whittaker - who is called upon to try and save the day here as a serious malfunction takes place on the aircraft: threatening the lives of all on board. Following the opening sequences, the movie takes a detour into the investigation of the eventual crash and the jaded life of Whip, and despite only being airborne for less than 15 minutes; Flight's opening scenes are authentic and intense enough to put you off flying anywhere for life. The screaming engine and the floundering camera depict rows and rows of helpless passengers crying out for their lives, and Zemeckis expertly places the viewer right within the body of the plane; cranking up the tension to the point where you feel as though you're about to be blown away. For as long as airplanes soar the skies, it'd be a very sensible idea to never show the movie Flight on board any of them. Never. Ever. Any other films you can think of that deliberately scared you away from taking public transport? Mention them in the comments below!
