Cheap Fire & Rain (Video) (Jerry Jameson) Price

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Customer Reviews of Fire & Rain

Excellent pre-crash approach realism, some cliched acting
Aircraft films usually prove aggravating. Bad directors resort to unrealistic sounds, actions, loud music, and horrendous dialogue in a vain attempt to paralyze the hapless viewer. It's even worse if you know something about flying, and find yourself constantly questioning why the over-budgeted dimwits didn't take some technical advice... you don't remember to extend flaps thirty seconds before landing, you don't use a yoke to turn an aircraft on the ground.

Fire and Rain didn't make any of these 'in-air' mistakes. There is no sensationalizing or embellishment. Everything, from the high-pitched whine of flaps extending, to the idle chatter in the passenger section, to the shadows fluttering in and out of the cockpit, contribute to an engrossing realism. Dialogue is tersely authentic, as is the turbulence. For about a thirtieth (if not a fiftieth) of the money, this film is far more realistic than the 'airline thriller' garbage of today.

The film delves into individual stories of heroism and tragedy after the crash. Considering the number of people who lost their lives on 191, and the few miracles that did happen, this is only appropriate. The crash scene is authentically strewn and cluttered without being too graphic.

Unfortunately some of the acting is rigid and repetitive, and the story does not really have much to expand on. In an effort to show all the feats of heroism, little attention is paid to why this actually happened beyond a laconic reference to wind shear. The reactions of many of the characters are without variety, and the story sadly relies on clichéd dialogue here and there.

The films good points overwhelmingly outweigh the bad. Acting is relatively solid, not great, and should be judged on a performance-by-performance basis, with the restricted storyline in mind.

If nothing else, the fantastically accurate approach scene makes this movie worthwhile, and gives the viewer a good feel for the terror those 150+ passengers endured on the final leg into DFW. In its understated realism, it is a suitable, dignified tribute to an American tragedy.