TURBULENCE

"TURBULENCE"
(1997) (Ray Liotta, Lauren Holly) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Mild	Moderate	Heavy	Heavy	Heavy

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Mild	None	Heavy	None	Extreme

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Mild	Minor	None	Mild	Extreme

QUICK TAKE:: Suspense/Thriller: A serial killer takes control of a pilot-less airliner.

PLOT:: Ryan Weaver (RAY LIOTTA), the "Lonely Heart Strangler," is a charming, but deadly serial killer. After he’s arrested by Detective Hines (HECTOR ELIZONDO), he’s put on a plane headed back to Los Angeles. Escorted by U.S. Marshals who are also transporting Stubbs (BRENDAN GLEESON), a violent bank robber with them, they fly on Christmas Eve on a nearly empty plane. Stubbs gets the action going when he kills most of the marshals and the pilot and Weaver, knowing that he’s destined for execution, doesn't plan on allowing the plane to land and thus kills Stubbs and the co-pilot. That leaves flight attendants Teri Halloran (LAUREN HOLLY) and Maggie (CATHERINE HICKS) to take care of things. With the help of an airline crisis manager, Rachel (RACHEL TICOTIN) and a friendly pilot, Captain Bowen (BEN CROSS), Teri does everything she can to land the plane while avoiding a huge storm and Weaver who’s determined to get her.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Younger kids won’t, but those who are fans of suspense/thrillers or of any of the stars will.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For terror, strong violence and language.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: RAY LIOTTA plays a charming serial killer who plans on crashing the plane and killing all on board.
LAUREN HOLLY plays the frightened flight attendant who is equally determined to land the plane and save everyone on board.; LAUREN HOLLY plays the frightened flight attendant who is equally determined to land the plane and save everyone on board.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

OUR TAKE: 5 out of 10: While this film brings nothing new to the airline disaster/hijacking genre, it’s a fairly entertaining suspense thriller. That comes about partly because of the performances from Liotta and Holly. He swings from the charming ladies man who claims he was framed, to the raging lunatic and Liotta hams it up when he gets to that stage. Holly, on the other hand, plays the frightened woman who pulls together enough strength and courage to do what she must to survive. Sure, the movie’s dumb, but accepted on that level, it has enough audience pleasing moments to keep viewers from getting too bored or thinking that they’ve seen all of this before (which they have, but here it seems somewhat fresh). We give it a 5 out of 10.

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:: Violence and profanity are the two main topics of concern here. Many people are killed and there’s a moderate amount of bloody carnage. Profanity tops out with over 20 "f" words. This is a rather suspenseful film, done not so much to be scary, but more to come across as adventurous. There’s just a little drinking, one scene of smoking and a rather mild sexual discussion. If your kids want to see this we suggest that you read through all of the category listings to determine if this film is appropriate for them.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: A passenger drinks champagne.
A teenager asks for a Heineken (beer) on the plane, but instead gets milk.
Weaver drinks champagne, first from a glass, and then from the bottle.
People drink in a hotel bar.

BLOOD/GORE: Blood squirts out after a marshal is stabbed by Stubbs whose hands are bloody.
Several people who are shot are a bit bloody and later the floor is rather bloody where all of their bodies have been piled.
A marshal’s nose is bloody after being hit in the face.
Teri sees all of the dead people who’ve now been placed in the passenger seats.
By the end, both Teri and Weaver are a bit bloody.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Obviously, both Stubbs and Weaver have both.
A Fed says that Teri’s only a stewardess to which Rachel responds, "She’s a flight attendant."

FRIGHTENING SCENES: Stubbs takes over the plane, killing some on board and there are some tense scenes with him holding people hostage and others where he and the marshals struggle for a gun all while the plane is out of control.
Many other scenes (listed under "Violence") are also rather tense.
Teri makes her way through the plane, hoping to find and help her friend Maggie, while knowing that Weaver is lurking about somewhere near her.
Weaver chases Teri through the plane that is now bucking and rolling out of control.
Teri must land the plane during a powerful storm while Weaver tries to get her.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Handguns: Used by the police to arrest Weaver.
Handgun: Taken from a marshal by the pilot after he notes that it’s not listed on the weapons manifest. Teri later takes that gun and aims it Weaver who grabs it from her, places it to her head and pulls the trigger many times (knowing it was empty).
Handgun: Used to threaten, injure or kill people. See "Violence" for details.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: A teenager rides his skateboard down the aisle on the plane.
Teri shoots Weaver in the face with a fire extinguisher.
Phrases: "Screwed me" and "Screwing" (both non sexual), "Shut up," "Bastard," and "Bitch" (toward women).

JUMP SCENES: None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): There is a heavy amount of suspenseful music throughout the movie.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: 21 "f" words (one with the prefix "mother"), 8 "s" words, 5 hells, 4 "ass" words, 2 damns, 1 S.O.B., and 3 uses each of "Oh God" and "God damn," 2 uses of "Oh my God" and 1 use each of "Jesus," "God," "For God’s sake," and "My God" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY: When Teri asks Stubbs what he’d like (to drink) he says, "I’d like to lay on you baby."
Weaver asks Teri lots of personal questions and then gets around to sex. He asks her whether she likes it, but she says that’s getting too personal. After getting a look from him, she says that she hasn’t had that many partners. He then asks how old she was when she first had sex and she answers, "Eighteen and a half." He asks if she liked it and she says yes.
To keep Weaver from crashing the plane, Teri offers herself to Weaver. "You don’t have to force yourself on me. You can have me." She starts to undress, but only to fool Weaver and no nudity is seen.

SMOKING: Weaver smokes a cigarette.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: None.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: Plane hijacking.
Whether a large airliner can fly upside down (this one does) without crashing.

VIOLENCE: Hines kicks Weaver in the face when he arrests him.
It’s reported that Weaver has already raped and killed five women.
When Teri asks Stubbs what he’d like (to drink) he says, "I’d like to lay on you baby." The marshal escorting Stubbs then hits him on the head with a magazine.
Stubbs removes the spring loaded soap dispenser in the plane’s bathroom and stabs one of the marshal’s with it, killing him. He then shoots two other marshals, the pilot, and then fights with another marshal for control of the gun. He also holds a gun to Teri’s head.
Stubbs hits a Marshall in the face and plans on throwing him from the plane and then elbows Teri in the face.
Weaver shoots Stubbs who shoots the last marshal before dying.
Weaver hits a male flight attendant in the face to make him go into the crew bunk.
Weaver strangles Maggie to death.
Teri shoots Weaver in the face with a fire extinguisher and then hits him over the head with it.
Weaver starts a fire on the plane and when Teri comes out to extinguish it, he grabs her. She escapes and then holds a gun on him, but he grabs it from her, holds it to her head and repeatedly pulls the trigger (knowing that it's not loaded). She then pushes him down a flight of stairs where his leg gets crushed by a closing mechanized door.
The plane crashes through part of a hotel, a billboard, and a parking garage where several cars are destroyed.
Teri shoots Weaver.

Reviewed January 6, 1997

Other new and recent reviews include:

Privacy Statement and Terms of Use and Disclaimer
By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.