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Ground Control

1999, Movie, PG-13, 93 mins

Ground Control: Review

With its cadre of straight-laced and noble protagonists, this film could have been commissioned by the Air Traffic Controllers' Benevolent Association. Five years after ace Chicago air traffic controller Jack Harris (Kiefer Sutherland) loses his nerve following an unavoidable air catastrophe, his mentor, T.C. Bryant (Bruce McGill), persuades him to accept a low-pressure assignment at Phoenix Airport. One blustery night, T.C. finds himself juggling multiple problems, outmoded equipment that engineer John Quinn (Henry Winkler), can barely keep functioning, a team comprised of untested rookies and burnt-out vets, and prestige-conscious Facilities Chief Susan Stratton (Kelly McGillis), who's accepting flights they can barely handle from other over-taxed airports. On top of everything else, hot-shot controller Cruise (Robert Sean Leonard) gives Harris attitude because he thinks Harris botched the Chicago crisis. The weather is stormy and power outages tax T.C.'s crew to the limit, forcing Jack to face his own crippling fears and manually chart a mathematical course for incoming Flight 47, which is damaged and running out of fuel. With its threadbare production values and state-of-the-artless special effects, this derivative near-disaster film features stock characters but does manage to whip up a little suspense as Harris navigates planes away from imminent disaster. --Robert Pardi