Rough Air: Danger on Flight 534 Reviews

A tepid doomed-flight thriller about a mid-air catastrophe that could have been avoided. Having survived an airplane accident, guilt-stricken pilot Mike Hogan (Eric Roberts) isn't quite ready to climb back into the cockpit. Hogan gets the opportunity to ease back into things as co-pilot to Captain Jack Brooks (Kevin Jubinville) on Boston-bound Flight 534. Unfortunately, hotshot Brooks focuses more on career ascendancy than safety regulations, and in order to make up for a delay, he pays no heed to Hogan's concern about a faulty cargo door. The presence of a notorious passenger, CEO Grant Blyth (Dean McDermott) adds to the in-flight tension — Blyth is facing the death penalty for the murder of his wife and business partner. Even though he's being watched by Detective Kevin Muldoon (John Furey), Blyth is looking for an opportunity opportunity to escape. Before long, Hogan's ex-girlfriend, stewardess Katie (Alexandra Paul), has more pressing concerns than plying first class flyers with booze. The cargo pulls loose, busting open the hatch door and causing suction that sends the plane into a tailspin; thanks to speed-demon Brooks's carelessness, one of the engines becomes frozen. Brooks gets conked on the noggin during the plane's dive, leaving Hogan to steady the aircraft. But when Brooks wakes up, he refuses to accept that Hogan has taken charge. Now someone will have to risk his life to secure the containers in the hold, and the volunteers include Blyth, a recreational flyer. Will Blyth use his know-how to save the airliner, or will he crash it because he has nothing left to lose? Fans of AIRPORT and other such disaster pictures may get a kick out of the genre cliches on parade, but it's hard to worry about Flight 534's passengers and crew when it's a foregone conclusion that the stars will land safely.