The Captain, the latest in ripped-from-the-headlines feature films pre-empted by real-life events of peril, takes firmly to its patriotic tropes as much as it does to the roaring skies above. It’s about as by-the-numbers as you would expect from a film of its kind whilst achieving its own usual highs and lows, and where its many strengths stem from its central focus on the crux of the film.
It’s 2018 and a plane bound for Lhasa is set to take off from Chongqing. Director Andrew Lau’s primary introduction reveals tried-and-tested air force veteran and Sichuan Airlines pilot, Captain Liu (Zhang Hanyu), before diving right into the well-oiled machinized inner-workings of the airport and aircrew itself – from the weather analysis right down to the flight attendants.
Much of the in-betweens of the film for a little over a half hour focus on growing some of the more interpersonal story arcs and relationships; Flight attendants wax on at one point about single life prospects compared to being in a relationship, while the first officer is primarily concerned with earning the captain’s respect and favor.
The passengers themselves are a colorful bunch, some of whom include a beautiful mute girl, elderly couples and other individuals who make the story just a little more interesting. And by interesting, I mean ‘quite enduring’. It takes the film close to 40 minutes for the plot to commence its biggest twist, and when it does, it’s a non-stop thrill ride.
The plane malfunctions and endangers Liu and his first officer immediately, while the second officer and senior flight attendant try their best to keep order with the passengers. The mission now is to divert the plane to Chengdu, and that means a harrowing detour across the very top of the Tibetan plateau, further threatening to endanger the plane’s occupants with cabin pressure slowly depleting.
Battling turbulent interference with ground control to communicate their situation, dangerous winds over hundreds of miles an hour, and a hellish, thundering cloud formation that all but darkens the plane for its climatic flight, all eyes are on Captain Liu to remain steadfast, adhere to his training and land the plane at Chengdu with all passengers accounted for.
The Captain definitely meanders for a while at first in its otherwise tolerable drama, and some of those exchanges are worth it. The main aspect of the film is the flight, and any and everything the crew could do to maintain the safety and welfare of the passengers, including senior flight attendant Bi Nan (Quan Yuan), who carries some of the best ‘gung-ho’ moments of the movie.
Lau scores some truly mesmerising cinematography throughout the film as the characters and crew are swept into the chaos. High speed lensing proves intergral at certain moments like this, topped with visuals of the Tibetan landscape and the dark, brutal weather anomaly before it.
It’s all about weathering the storm at of thousands of feet at close to 200 miles an hour above the ground, breaking laws of physics and taking a chance in order to increase their chances of survival that this movie. Looking at the logline which describes the film’s events depicted as one that focuses on “the most miraculous emergency landing in the contemporary history of Chinese aviation”, Lau’s The Captain certainly passes muster.
Falling right in line with the industry’s rescue-centric propaganda films, there’s plenty of jingoism to go around along with the emotive, compelling force that drives you to get behind Zhang’s portrayal of Liu, and Yuan’s Nan. Saving much of the spectacle for the last half and third of the film, The Captain doesn’t suffer too much from some of its formulaic writing that it leaves you grounded, and you’ll be pleased with its sufficient delivery to hand it a thumbs-up.
The Captain opens in select U.S. theaters Friday October 18 from Well Go USA, and is now in UK/ROI theaters from Cine Asia