Mid-February Movie Reviews (Plane, M3GAN, She Said)
Is Plane a smooth, enjoyable ride, or a bumpy flight that you can’t wait to get off of? Does M3GAN fit the bill of a successful and terrifying toy slasher? Plus, what do I have to say about She Said? Buckle up, activate your sinister android doll, and prepare to flex those investigative journalistic muscles, as we answer these questions (and more) while taking a look at these three February films.
Plane (2023)
Lionsgate, 107 minutes
We’re only two months into 2023, but Plane, an action-adventure movie starring Gerard Butler, is already the clear frontrunner for the worst titled movie of the year. I wish I could say that the film itself is more exciting and engaging than its boring, one-word, title, but, alas, I cannot.
Our story focuses on a pilot, played by Butler, who’s forced to crash-land a plane on an unnamed island filled with dangerous rebels. With the help of a prisoner who happened to be aboard the aircraft, Butler’s character must go to battle with the nameless villains in order to rescue the passengers of his flight after they’re taken hostage.
If all of this sounds exciting, allow me to assure you that it’s really not. The action here is pretty bland, and things move so quickly from one situation to the next that there’s never any real buildup or tension. I have no problem with a mindless action flick, but for one to work it’s got to have some pretty darn exhilarating fight scenes – that’s just not what you get with Plane.
Interesting characters can definitely elevate an action movie to another level, but I’d like to report that they’re completely absent from this movie. To call the characters in Plane flat, cliché cardboard cutouts of human beings would be an insult to cardboard cutouts. Everyone you’d expect to find in an action movie is here though – from executives bickering in the boardroom over how to best assist the downed aircraft, to the ex-military prisoner who’s really not bad at all, to the protagonist’s daughter waiting for him at home. We never get an ounce of uniqueness or depth to any of them.
The best thing about Plane is that it’s mercifully less than two hours, a feat that to its credit, is often not accomplished by today’s blockbusters. It’s also never truly so awful that you have to turn it off, though I’d recommend not getting on board this Plane to begin with.
Grade: 3.5/10
M3GAN (2023)
Universal Pictures, 102 minutes
M3GAN is an “evil toy” horror film that’s a lot better than it has any business being. Contrary to what I expected based off of trailers and other promotional material, the movie takes itself pretty seriously. There are some funny comedic moments, sure, but overall, this is a well-made horror tale about the dangers of artificial intelligence run amuck.
Plot-wise, we follow Gemma, played by Allison Williams, who takes in her eight-year-old niece after the girl’s parents are killed suddenly. A robotics engineer with no experience raising a child, Gemma decides to bring a prototype of an A.I. toy named M3GAN (which stands for Model 3 Generative Android) and pair it with her niece.
Of course, we, the audience, know that it’s only a matter of time before M3GAN will start committing evil acts, but the pacing is nicely done, with the movie not rushing into too much horror violence right off the bat. Things progress in the story in a way that feels like they naturally would in real life, with the stakes continuously getting raised as we go.
Lookswise, the M3GAN doll is the right mix of appearing (extremely) sinister while still looking like something that could be made by a real toy company. The human cast is totally serviceable too, but M3GAN is the real star of the film. Overall, M3GAN is a fun, well-made horror movie.
Grade: 7.5/10
She Said (2022)
Universal Pictures, 129 minutes
She Said was a box office bomb when it was released late last year, but that has a lot to do with the marketing of the movie and the business decision to release a film like this into 2,000 theaters at once, when it would’ve been much better suited to a limited release. That’s really a shame because this is a quality movie.
In this true story, we follow two New York Times investigative reporters as they unravel Harvey Weinstein’s history of sexual assault and the manner in which it was covered up for decades in Hollywood. The film follows the format of other “newspaper investigation”-type movies, where our protagonists interview sources and scour documents in an attempt to break the big story.
As such, She Said, at times, feels more like an informative watch as opposed to simply an entertaining one. I think the movie could’ve benefited from a slightly shorter runtime. Still, the performances from the entire cast are first-rate, and this definitely has the feel of a movie that would be nominated for lots of awards, though it wasn’t due to its botched handling by Universal. I also think this movie would’ve found a bigger audience if what happened with Weinstein wasn’t quite so recent.
With all of that being said, even if you know the facts of what happened already, She Said is still a worthwhile watch for those who can handle a more heavy, and definitely at times pretty upsetting, story. When you consider its subject matter, this is an important watch.
Grade: 7.5/10