Turbulence (1997 film)

Turbulence is a 1997 American action thriller film directed by Robert Butler, and starring Ray Liotta and Lauren Holly. It was distributed by MGM Distribution Co.

Plot
Ryan Weaver, an accused serial killer and rapist, is arrested in New York City despite his claims of innocence. Even though police lieutenant Aldo Hines (who has been pursuing Weaver's case for years) broke protocol during the arrest by assaulting him (which later enraged Weaver) the authorities have enough hard evidence to have him extradited to Los Angeles to face trial. He and another prisoner, a bank robber named Stubbs, are escorted by four US marshals on a TransContinental Airlines commercial flight. Even though it is Christmas Eve, the 747 is nearly empty, with only eleven people on board.

During the flight, Stubbs breaks free while using the bathroom and begins a shootout with the marshals. A stray bullet punches a hole in the fuselage causing explosive decompression, before the hole is sealed with a briefcase. Amidst the chaos, the captain is fatally shot and the first officer dies when his head slams into the yoke, disengaging the autopilot in the process. Weaver frees himself and attempts to save the last remaining marshal, but fails when Stubbs shoots him dead after being shot himself.

Weaver appears to be horrified by the ordeal, increasing the passengers' trust in him. With the flight crew lost, Teri Halloran, a flight attendant, makes her way into the cockpit and learns she is the only one left capable of keeping the 747 from crashing. To make matters worse, the plane is heading into a storm which threatens severe turbulence.

Weaver's behavior becomes increasingly erratic as he is paranoid of being sentenced to death upon landing and suffers nervous breakdowns. He then locks the passengers in the crew's cabin then attacks and strangles Maggie, one of the other flight attendants, to death. Weaver then calls Hines at the FBI control center in LAX and threatens to crash the 747 into their facility, lamenting on Hines' "planted evidence" and that he is willing to do anything to avoid being arrested. Weaver then reveals to Teri that he committed the murders and attacks her, but she manages to trap him below deck.

After the plane survives severe storm turbulence, Teri must be instructed by radio from Captain Bowen how to reprogram the autopilot to land at LAX, but her task is complicated by Weaver's obscene and constant interruptions. Weaver then breaks into the avionics bay and smashes the server running the primary autopilot software, rendering the first landing attempt unsuccessful, and forcing a last second go-around. It skims a rooftop Japanese restaurant and a multi-story parking garage, but regains the air, though the landing gear picks up a Ford Ranger pickup. The backup autopilot engages, allowing Teri to make efforts to turn the plane around. However a USAF officer at LAX sends an F-14 Tomcat to intercept the 747.

Teri begs the authorities not to have her shot down, insisting she can land the plane. Weaver breaks into the cockpit with an axe and tries to kill her, but the F-14 destroys the truck instead, shaking the 747 and giving Teri a chance to attack. Teri retrieves a .38 revolver (that one of the marshals turned over to the captain upon boarding), and, in the midst of Weaver's assault, manages to load a bullet and shoots Weaver through the head, killing him. Teri returns to the pilot's seat and with Bowen's radio assistance, safely lands the 747 using the autopilot. Despite Weaver's claims that he killed them all, the other crew and passengers are found alive.

Cast

 * Ray Liotta as Ryan Weaver
 * Lauren Holly as Teri Halloran
 * Catherine Hicks as Maggie
 * Héctor Elizondo as Lieutenant Aldo Hines
 * Rachel Ticotin as Rachel Taper
 * Brendan Gleeson as Stubbs
 * Ben Cross as Captain Samuel Bowen
 * Jeffrey DeMunn as Brooks
 * John Finn as FBI Special Agent Frank Sinclair
 * Heidi Kling as Betty
 * Gordy Owens as Carl
 * Michael Harney as Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Marty Douglas
 * Grand Bush as Deputy U.S. Marshal Al Arquette
 * Richard Hoyt-Miller as Deputy U.S. Marshal Riordan
 * Michael Francis Kelly as Deputy U.S. Marshal Green
 * J. Kenneth Campbell as Captain Matt Powell
 * James MacDonald as 1st Officer Ted Kary
 * George Cheung as The Party Guest (uncredited)

Production
The spec script was purchased by Rysher Entertainment for $1 million. The film was announced to be in development in May 1995. Filming began in spring 1996 and ended in Autumn 1996. The film was part of a four picture distribution deal between Rysher and MGM.

Box office
Turbulence grossed $11 million domestically on a $55 million budget.

Critical reception
Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, gave it an approval rating of 19% with four positive and 17 negative out of 21 reviews; the average rating was 4 out of 10. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.

Both Roger Ebert and James Berardinelli rated the film one star out of four, denouncing the implausible storyline as well as the casting of Lauren Holly as an action heroine. G. Allen Johnson of the San Francisco Examiner called the film "an absolute bore".

Lauren Holly's performance in the film earned her a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actress, though she lost to Demi Moore for G.I. Jane. Turbulence was also nominated for Worst Reckless Disregard for Human Life and Public Property but lost to Con Air. At the Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, Holly was nominated for Worst Actress but lost to Alicia Silverstone for Excess Baggage.

Sequels
Despite its box office failure, the film did well enough on home video to become a trilogy with two new direct-to-video sequels. They are Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying and Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal, each with a different cast.