The Top 10 Flight Themed Movies of All Time
Flight has been an important theme in movies, even before it became a mainstay in popular culture. At first, flight was used in movies for its novelty and the fears of the unknown it induced in its viewers. Today, flight themes are popular because of how common airplanes are, and because of the action and horror that can result from riding in and maneuvering a plane. Movies that take place within airplanes are the perfect confined setting for plots that can get a viewer’s blood pumping, and make the hair rise up on the back of his or her neck. Airports can also be used as a setting, with plots ranging from exciting to dramatic. Read or learn about 10 of the most popular flight-themed movies.
Airplane!: Largely considered one of the greatest spoofs of all time, this film starts with ex-military pilot Ted Striker following the love of his life, a stewardess, onto a commercial plane to try and win her back. After a bad meal results in the food poisoning of both passengers and crew, Ted must overcome his trauma to land the plane…and deal with every ridiculous character who gets in his way.
Top Gun: Maverick, a pilot, shows his potential when he talks down his freaked out wingman after flying over the Persian Gulf and encountering MIGs. When his wingman steps down from his position, Maverick is promoted to the Top Gun Naval Flying School. There, he tries to be the best pilot he can be, while clashing with other students, fighting his father’s legacy, and crushing on his instructor.
Catch Me If You Can: An agent of the FBI tries to catch a young, handsome con artist around the world who has impersonated a doctor, airline pilot, and an assistant attorney general, and cashed more than $2.5 million dollars in fake checks. The FBI agent’s initial obsession with the letter of the law gives way eventually to something more personal, and the con artist almost becomes a child-like figure to the agent.
Up in the Air: Ryan Bingham fires people for a living as a corporate downsizing expert. He relishes his job, because he’s an expert at it. The reactions of his victims, including their anger and despair, has left him afraid to make any attachments, and enjoying finding himself up in the air, flying to a different place to do his job. When his work is threatened by a young upstart who has developed a way to fire people from a remote location, Ryan takes her on one of his cross-country flights to prove that her new idea is wrong. During the trip, they both come to realizations about their jobs and ways of life.
Con Air: United States Army Ranger Cameron Poe has been in prison for seven years after brawling with a man and accidentally killing him to defend his wife. Now that he has been paroled, his only way home is to board a plane with some of the most dangerous criminals in the world, who are being transported to a maximum security prison. After an inmate breaks free from his restraints he commandeers the plane, and plans a dramatic escape for the others. Officials want to shoot the plane down. Cameron takes it upon himself to regain control of the plane and make sure their escapes never happen.
Snakes on a Plane: An FBI agent escorts an important witness on a flight to testify against a mob boss. But the mob boss has other plans, as he hires an assassin to release a crate of poisonous snakes on a plane to get rid of the witness once and for all. The FBI agent says it best: “Everybody listen! We have to put a barrier between us and the snakes!”
The Aviator: This is a biography of Howard Hughes, the famous aviator and director. It takes place between the 1920s and the 1940s, and focuses on the idiosyncrasies of this legendary man.
Air Force One: The president of the United States just announced to the world that he will not negotiate with terrorists. What’s the worst that could happen? His plane, Air Force One, is hijacked.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles: A classic comedy about a man who just wants to get home for Thanksgiving, and who has to deal with the company of a shower ring salesman along the way.
Flight of the Phoenix: A cargo plane goes down. Miraculously, one of the survivors is an airplane designer who conjures up the idea of taking the wreckage of the downed plane and building a new one. The survivors’ escape is just a few scrap parts away…or is it?
(Featured image: Alan Bruce)
