Aviator (1985)

Christopher Reeve (Superman) and Rosanna Arquette (Pulp Fiction) star in this thrilling post-World War I drama about survival, romance and the resilience of the human spirit. Co-starring Oscar(r) nominee* Jack Warden (The Replacements) and Tyne Daly ("Judging Amy"), The Aviator soars with adventure. As a solo pilot for the nation's newly-formed airmail service, Edgar Anscombe (Reeve), a man haunted by a tragic memory, has made a career of keeping tohimself over the years. But one day he's unexpectedly assigned an involuntary passenger: the rebellious and outspoken Tillie Hansen (Arquette), whose unrelenting impudence drives Edgar crazy! But when their plane is forced to crash-land in a rugged and desolate mountain canyon, the unlikely companions find they have only one source of hope against the excruciating elements, the savage wilderness and a pack of hungry wolves: each other! *Supporting Actor, Heaven Can Wait (1978); Shampoo (1975)

The aviator

Based on a very good book from E.K. Gann, this movie is unfortunately of less quality. Good adventure movie anyway. July 3, 2008

"You're a hundred and five pounds of freight. Freight doesn't talk."

We all know that Christopher Reeve never got a chance to make a lot of movies in his career. Filmwise, he'll always be remembered best, of course, for his iconic Man of Steel role. And, after that, probably for his terrific romantic fantasy SOMEWHERE IN TIME. But, sandwiched in between the decent SUPERMAN III and the crappy SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE, Reeve made a now obscure 1985 picture titled THE AVIATOR. It's an okay adventure film, if hokey and by the numbers. In this one, Reeve may not have on his classic red cape, but he still manages to soar in the sky.



Here comes the plot: A decade after surviving a horrible airplane mishap which kills his student, ex-Army Air Corps flight instructor Edgar Anscombe (Chris Reeve) has changed careers and is now an air mail pilot. But, still, that tragic event haunts him. His guilt isolates him from everyone, so he's not exactly full of cheer when he learns of his teenaged airplane passenger Tillie Hansen (Rosanna Arquette). From the get go, the taciturn Anscombe and the bratty Tillie don't get along (even her father dubs her "an affliction"), and Anscombe cannot wait to dump off his irritating cargo. But when a mechanic's negligence causes their plane to crash land into the wilderness, Anscombe and Tillie must pool resources as they endure an unforgiving climate, various injuries, and hostile predators. Thru all this, they'll strive to reach civilization. That's if they don't kill each other first.



So, the story's certainly not new. In fact, THE AVIATOR is reminiscent of, if not as entertaining as, HIGH ROAD TO CHINA - which was released two years before (1983). Both films take place in the same post-World War 1 era and center on a gruff pilot and his unwanted female passenger. It's a bit weird to watch Reeve sporting a mustache and a scar on his mug, but you get used to it, and he does turn in a perfectly fine performance. He's the best and, probably, the only reason to watch this film.



Those who've only known Reeve as a mild-mannered reporter and a polite superhero will be startled at his ungracious, 180 degree turn here as the resentful and cantankerous pilot. Those who've followed his film career, of course, are already in the know about the range of his acting talent. Not that it takes great skill to play an embittered chap, mind you, but Reeve manages it divertingly well. When he calls Tillie a "stupid little brat" you can quite imagine the spittle spray out with the venom. It's so much fun witnessing a mean Christopher Reeve that it's almost a bummer when he begins acting civilized and gentlemanly. Rosanna Arquette is okay as the petulant gabfest of a girl Tillie. By that, I mean she doesn't get on my nerves too much. She and Reeve does have a kind of chemistry, but I don't know if I can call it a romantic chemistry. The film was a tad wishy washy when it came to hooking these two up as an item.



As a theatrically released feature, THE AVIATOR is decidedly lacking in scope and big movie sensibilities. Instead, this would've been an ideal television movie. The 1928 setting is mostly wasted as the two leads spend a huge amount of screen time in the wilderness, an environment which does little to generate that sense of cliffhangery pulp nostalgia. The film, when not on our two leads, focuses on the distraught supporting roles as they do their token bits with the fretting and the sending out of search parties. I found these scenes to be all too trite and boring. In my opinion, there just wasn't enough to work with, plot-wise, script-wise, hazard-wise. Which brings me to what I feel is another flaw. Other than the wolves, I didn't get any real sense of jeopardy in the wilderness scenes, nothing which made me believe that, uh oh, these guys might not make it, after all. The tension really could've been ratcheted up much more. Instead, what I got was a bland Grizzly Adams sort of vibe.



Now, if you're gonna slack off on the suspense route, then you need to have an interesting character study. We don't exactly have that here. Oh, Christopher Reeve's role is intriguing, don't get me wrong, but the person he plays off against the most (meaning Tillie) isn't on the same par as he. And that's probably because Tillie is a one note character. Add to that Arquette's mediocre acting and the result is a display of interpersonal dynamics between the two that just isn't, well, dynamic. So, lamentably, the story suffers from predictability, from languid pacing, and from a lack of spirit, of that sense of high adventure. Ultimately, the film squanders Chistopher Reeve's angry but engaging performance. So, a grudging three stars for THE AVIATOR, which, at least, is better than SUPERMAN IV. With not a lot of choices in films for Chris Reeve fans, this flick just about falls into the must see category. But, honestly, if you crave high flying pulp adventure done up 1930s style, then you might as well go with HIGH ROAD TO CHINA.

June 21, 2007

A Middle of the Road Survival/Coming of Age film

Christopher Reeve plays an airmail pilot who has to carry a passenger. Rosanna Arquette is that passenger and she is a spoiled teenager being sent away to live with relatives because she has "disgraced the family". The two take an instant diliking to each other. The situation changes, though, when their plane crashes in the mountains and it looks like they are about to become Purina Wolf Chow.

Both of the characters are changed by their ordeal. He learns to put away some of the baggage from surviving a training flight 10 years earlier. She matures without losing her independant mindset and outspoken ways. Their crash, fight for survival and trek through the mountains makes them put their differences aside and depend on each other.

This film is certainly not the best survival film nor is it the best plane crash movie nor does it even approach being a great love story. It is, however, well done and entertaining. Fans of Christopher Reeve will enjoy it as will fans of Rosanna Arquette. It is a good movie even if it is not a great one. May 13, 2005

THE AVIATOR-CHRISTOPHER REEVE-1985

Not to be confuse with the new movie that's out.But this is a very interesting REEVE movie.When his plane is forced to crash-land in a rugged and desolate mountain canyon,the unlikely companions find they have only one source of hope against the savage wilderness and hungry wolves.Co-starring is Rosanna Arquette..as..Tillie,a rebellious & outspoken woman.Mr.Reeve
and Ms Arquette play off of each other very well.On dvd in widescreen..gives it the SCOPE of the mountains.It's a pretty well down flick. March 8, 2005

Flight of Survival

When former WWI pilot instructor Christopher Reeve crashes his biplane with Rosanna Arquette aboard, it is more than a matter of survivial. Arquette plays a spoiled society girl that happened to need a ride so bad she paid to ride with his mail run. When they crash in the mountains it is a test of personalities as well as survival. Reeve and Arquette are great. Although not as much fun as "High Road To China", it is still a great movie. Fans of Christopher Reeve should definitely get it. This is ninety-seven minutes of survival and relationships training. Reeve's and Arquette do such a good job in their roles of pilot and society girl that you will wonder why you hadn't heard of this movie before. I highly recommend it. The picture and sound quality are excellent. To bad it doesn't include any commentary or documentary. It is still worth adding to your DVD collection. One of my favorite Christopher Reeve movies. I had not heard of it before I saw it in a store. I bought it as a gamble and it paid off. Get it whether you are a fan of Reeve's, Arquette's, airplanes, survival shows, or just good movies. October 13, 2004

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