Death Flight: A weird, dusty trip through the clouds

Is it worth the time?

Look, if you need fast cuts and CGI explosions, steer clear. This is for the folks who get a kick out of watching 1940s melodrama unfold in a cramped space. If you hate old, creaky dialogue, you’re going to be reaching for the remote within ten minutes.

It’s a strange little relic. You can feel the age of the film in every frame, like the dust is still settling on the celluloid. Sometimes, that’s exactly what I’m in the mood for.

The Cabin Fever

The whole thing hinges on the passengers being stuck together. There is this one scene where they are all just sitting there, waiting for the other shoe to drop, and the camera lingers on them way too long. It’s awkward, sure, but it actually kind of works.

You can almost hear the gears of the script turning. It doesn't have the polish of something like The Oyster Princess, but it has a weird, nervous energy. It’s not trying to be high art. It’s just trying to get the plane to land without everyone losing their marbles.

• The lighting is mostly just 'bright' or 'shadowy.'
• The acting is very... theatrical. Lots of big hand gestures.
• I swear the same background prop shows up three different times in different scenes.

There’s a moment with Sara García that just hits different. She holds the screen in a way the rest of the cast doesn't quite manage. It makes you realize how much a single performance can prop up a thin story. She’s the real reason to keep watching.

The pacing is all over the place. It speeds up when it should slow down. Then it just stops dead in the middle of a conversation. It’s not a perfect movie by any stretch, but it feels like a movie made by people who were figuring it out as they went along.

It reminded me a bit of the feeling I got watching The Fighting Cowboy, where the simplicity is the whole point. It’s not trying to reinvent the wheel. It’s just trying to tell a story about people in a metal tube in the sky. ✈️

Don't go in expecting a masterpiece. Go in expecting a weird, quiet afternoon watch. Just don't blame me if you start noticing how weirdly staged the seating chart is. I couldn't stop looking at it.