Being a fan of the 1965 original, I went into watching this with the same trepidation I've approached other 21st century remakes- complete skepticism. I must say this was better than I expected but overall not the most worthy endevour, considering how many talented writers there are in LA. But anywayssss, the good - the crash scene is excellent for all the obvious reasons, I really like how they did the smugglers and bandits that they come across in the desert, much better than the original. And the movie's one saving grace is the performance given by my man Giovanni Ribisi who takes the original Richard Attenborough role and somehow makes it even more creepier and esoteric. The bad- Dennis Quaid looks like he walked right onto the set from the Riviera Country Club and his fake smile gets old fast- Jimmy Stewart he's NOT. Hugh Laurie is totally out of place with this group, he's just meant to do stuff like House where he is the man, ya dig? Nice to see Miranda Otto but she is also miscast. Using my Pinewoods Rating System, this remake gets Two & 1/2 Pinewoods, without Giovanni, Two Pinewoods.....The Horror!!
Flight of the Phoenix Movie Review (2004) | Roger Ebert
"Flight of the Phoenix" is a fairly faithful remake of the 1965 adventure classic, with no big surprises, But it uses special effects to create scenes unavailable to the earlier film, including sensational sandstorms, a detailed crash sequence and a convincing takeoff.
Film Review: Flight of the Phoenix (2004)
Having not seen the original yet, I took the opportunity to buy the 2004 remake of Flight of the Phoenix after reading so many reviews saying how awful it was.
On the left - rugged crusader
On the right - fluff and more fluff
THE HORROR!!
