User reviews

This movie which is based on a true story could have been so much better. Dennis Quaid did a fine job in his performance and those who portrayed his family did an ok job. My major complaint is why did Hollywood need to make out two preteen kids (who was not involved in the real event) act like they are geniuses. I found this addition very distracting and insulting to have two kids listening to air traffic controllers and trying to explain what is happening to each other and us the audience. This part was totally fictionalized and unnecessary. Other than it was on ok family movie. Could have been better though.

This movie comes really close to being good, but falls short because of the addition of pointless and annoying characters. Characters that have no value in driving the storyline or improving the plot in any way.

I wanted to enjoy this movie, it's based upon a true story that is amazing on its own, and really doesn't need any "help" or additions to the story to make it more interesting to viewers.

For some reason, movie studios love placing kids in pointless roles in movies. It happens way too much and only serves to break up the tension and lowers the quality of the movie. Children overreacting and being dramatic in a true story like this isn't funny, comedic, or cute, it's just infuriating and annoying.

I don't think it's a stretch at all to say that the movie could have easily been improved with some good editing. If the filler scenes with the two "aviation enthusiasts" children were removed, and instead we simply had a few more scenes with the interactions between the aircraft and the aircraft tower, it would make for a much more enjoyable watch.

Sometimes less can be more. They went way too over the top with this movie. They didn't need all the extra stuff, it was dramatic enough to begin with. They didn't need kids explaining everything. They didn't need to create any additional stressful situations on the plane itself when it was already stressful enough anyways. They could have simply told the story exactly as it happened and the movie would have been better for it. Sometimes I can understand movies really hyping things up, but this was never going to be an action movie and they tried to turn it into one, which didn't work out well, in my opinion.

If you want to actually watch this as it happened, there's a Youtube video about it on the channel FS Mania titled "PILOT DIES, Passenger Lands King Air". It recreates the entire incident in Microsoft Flight Simulator while using the actual transmissions from the incident. It's about 10x better than this movie is, while also only taking up about 40 minutes. Just watch that instead. Save yourself some time and watch a better video while you're doing it.

As a hobbyist pilot, if there's an airplane movie, I'm watching it: Positives: 1) Good family movie that is not afraid to use faith. 2) it's got cute Heather Graham who did not sell herself to the monster Harvey Weinstein. 3) Heather praying the Lord's Prayer (I'm not religious, but the way this nation is heading to, I'm becoming more of faith).

Negatives: 1) Lacking serious aviation technical advice. Vertical speed indicator's showing a gradual descend, yet the altimeter is climbing like a rocket, and many others. 2) Like some have mentioned, annoying kids.

I do fly many Angel Flights in South FL, hopefully I'll hear Doug over the radio one day.

Don't bother with this horrible adaptation of a great story. It's horribly inaccurate and honestly a complete load of garbage. It makes Doug White look like a total dumbass. Half of the movie never even happened and the other half is aviation nonsense that would make even a casual flight simulator enthusiast cringe. There are so many other ways to experience this story which are much more realistic, accurate, and exciting. How Doug White, who is an amazing man, allowed this absolute tripe to be released as a feature film about him boggles my mind.

You can see the real deal on YouTube. Just search for "Pilot dies king air Doug White". It uses the flight data recreated on modern flight simulator software overlaid with real time air traffic control audio of Doug and the amazing people who guided him and his family safely to the ground in Fort Myers.

"It's just me and the good Lord flying this thing" "She touched down like a butterfly with sore feet"

Be sure to watch the follow on video where Doug presents the ATC controllers the highest honors in their profession. It is truly moving.

Don't waste your time on this film. It is one of the worst adaptations I've ever seen.

I have no actual knowledge of the real story that inspired this movie, but the end credits show photos and give explanations of the real people involved. It says of the King Air 200, the subject plane, "One of the most difficult to fly."

My wife and I watched this streaming on Amazon Prime. Both of us feel the same, the movie is done in a somewhat hokey and sentimental style, most of it in the air as they are trying to figure out how to land the plane safely while communicating with ATC. We both think the real story has a much better movie in there somewhere but this one was not particularly well made. Still, it was a fun watch, I laughed a number of times but probably where no humor was intended.

NB - I asked my son, a pilot who has flown a King Air a number of times, to watch the movie and see what he thinks. His opinion wasn't very favorable at all, like most of the rest of us he thinks the filmmakers botched the whole movie, especially the parts that involved flying the plane and landing.

We are glad we saw it for the knowledge that the real people are OK, but in truth it is not a very good movie. The part I actually enjoyed the most were the two younger kids in their home, not far from the Florida airport, following the plane on Flight Aware and speculating whether the plane would land safely. I don't know if that is factual or not but I found it entertaining.

Lovely movie based on true story. I work in the airline industry so noticed numerous flaws, even without my background some of the movie's flaws were pretty obvious - if plane took dive people would be banging around etc.

Poor acting by female lead in my opinion, otherwise all the other actors were solid and believable in their roles. I was unsure of the importance the kids had in monitoring the drama that was unfolding and I just found that part a bit distracting in the storyline.

The follow-up of the individuals after the show was very interesting.

I found it worth watching this family friendly movie.

I saw Dennise Quaide and Heather Graham and said this might not be bad of a flick. OH WAS I WRONG.

Sean McNamara and Brian Egeston should never be allowed to make another movie EVER AGAIN.. This movie is so badly written and produced that if you are a pilot or in aviation there is no way you can watch it without a a good drink and a hammer to hit yourself with. The acting made Teen Wolf 2 look like a award winning film. I am glad I wasted my time, so you do not have to endure the acting nightmare in this movie.

The only part of this movie that made any sense was at the end when the song hallelujah came on. I was singing hallelujah because this horrible movie is over.

This movie has a great story that takes you with them on the real journey that happened to a family.

Was it the best movie out there no but it keeps you engaged and has some twists, that did happen, that make this even more of a miracle flight.

If you enjoy movies based on true stories and a miracle saves them type then you will probably like this movie.

As for all the negative reviews I read it sounds mostly like those reviewers expect every movie to be made with special effects and high quality everything. Someone said it needed more (based on a true story there isn't more) and someone said it needed less action. It's a guy flying a plane any less action and it's just a guy standing by a plane..

I often read the reviews after watching a movie because they can be entertaining and even give you a new perspective. But almost every review here is criticizing that it wasn't technically accurate. Guys the movie is titled on a wing and a prayer not technically accurate emergency landing documentary. This film is about a man who had lost his faith and then who felt God saved him and his family. So now that you know what the movies about, I hope y'all go back and remove these ridiculous redundant verbose reviews about how it's not technically accurate. I've never been so disappointed in reviews in my life. Yes the acting wasn't great although it actually wasn't bad. Dennis Quaid is the name we all know and I really appreciate him being in a film that is Christian-based. We should have more of these wonderful actors putting their name on Christian-based films like Denzel Washington Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson. The woman who played his wife has been in other shows and I was a little surprised that she seem to play this as a comedy act, or maybe it was just the ridiculousness of an belting a 200 pound human being in front of a flight array . There was a lot of little things that I'm sure may have been added for drama and interest. But for those who say the kids on the bikes were ridiculous and unrealistic, I beg to differ when I was a kid on a bike I went many places I wasn't supposed to go and outsmarted a lot of security officers and police officers who thought I shouldn't be there. This is what kids do . I did think it was ridiculous that the teenager had a peanut allergy reaction when everyone knows that having such an allergy makes you read ingredients very carefully before you eat it's not after. I did feel the film took too long to get going while they try to intro the characters , but all in all it was telling a based on real life story about a man who lost his faith and then regained it in a time of near disaster. I repeat this is not a technically accurate documentary. The reviews here are common for a well-known actor who attracts people who are looking for Hollywood entertainment and action instead of reviewing the film that they actually just watched. Shame on all of you for your immature responses. And to the review who called it dribble, the term is drivel.

This is 2009 based on a true story. Doug White (Dennis Quaid) is a pharmacist in small town Louisiana who takes one flying lesson. He is devastated by his brother's death and starts questioning God. He is flying home from the funeral with his wife Terri (Heather Graham) and two daughters on a small private plane. The pilot dies during the flight and he is forced to land the plane with only God and his wife as his co-pilots.

The first part of this Christian film is rather slow. It tries to establish the close sibling relationship, but I still find Doug's doubt too abrupt. It's something that would happen if a child accidentally dies. The brother is a middle age guy who loves his ribs. Sure, it's a tragedy, but it's not unforeseeable. Everybody dies. Doug's religious journey is an important aspect of the movie and it needs to be done right. On the other hand, I like Doug losing all hope on the plane. It's a great opportunity for praying. I really like that section for a Christian film. There are other issues. I almost laughed when they jerry-rigged the cockpit. I kept thinking Home Alone. The kids are not necessary. They could have gave them a little something to contribute to the rescue. All in all, this movie is a bumpy ride. It mostly works after they get on the plane.

As a Christian and an Air Force Veteran , this movie apparently had no Air Traffic Controller advisers . If a former pilot were instructing someone to land , they wouldnt need a garage mockup . Roma Downey failed on this one. The large scale Christian movies of the past were the hayday of movies 10 Commandments , Ben Hur , The Greatest Story ever told , The Passion of the Christ , cant seem to be topped. This movie has very low grade acting. The real story is amazing and deserved a bigger budget . The first encounter with the tower was very different than it would have been. The controller would have been more methodical and to the point. Much time was wasted in casual talk.

Listen, this is the worst writing I have ever seen.

The poor actors did their best, I guess. This screenplay made a 30 minute ordeal (the actual story) into 103 minutes I literally died laughing throughout.

Yes, I'm a Pilot and non-pilots can forgive total fabrication and utterly terrible inaccuracies of this 'feel good' and 'Jesus take the wheel' mentality of this horrific waste of time, energy and the precious bandwidth that was used to stream this film. I have seen Adult films with much better plots and writing. If you are a Pilot or even Flight Sim lover, you are going to hate this flick. Also, on a $69 Introductory Flight (in the Cessna) the instructor would NEVER allow you to attempt an actual take off or landing. SO MJCH inaccurate drama was tossed in to feed our hopeful little feeble minds, including that, the doom storm, the Chocolate bar Eppy pen emergency...blah blah. From the controllers who were in real life heros, to these fake actor controllers and terrible lines making them all out to be toral morons, this film reeked!

This movie is bad in every possible way with the acting and script absolutely the worst. Plot - bad. Scenery - pathetic. Directing - non existent. This movie should garner a few Razzie nominations including Worst Picture and Worst Script. They managed to turn a real life drama into a bad comedy. I endured through the movie hoping it would get better but that never happened.

I think the "best" part, or more accurately, the least bad part was after the movie ended and they had clips of the actual characters. They should have considered using these people in the movie. I would probably have liked these characters. This movie could not have been much worse. Please don't waste your time like I did!

With it being based on a true story. Dennis Quaid was really good as were the other actors. It keeps your attention the whole movie. Good family movie without all the unnecessary cussing or sex scenes. It is truly about having faith in God and how He can get you through impossible situations! It is amazing what faith can accomplish for people. Likable characters in this movie. Highly recommend watching this movie! It shows how people can work together in highly stressful and almost impossible situations in life. I don't think you will be disappointed with this movie. Enjoy watching this movie.

After many many years I now have a new worst movie. This is bad, very bad. The acting from Dennis Quaid is not bad but everyone else is absolutely atrocious! It's like everyone was a 1 take deal, some scenes were that bad I cringed, others were that bad I laughed. It was like they just got a bunch of people off the street to do a quick scene. The kids were super annoying and couldn't act at all. Some of the scenes where they zoomed in on the plane looks good.... Then other shots of the plane were straight out of a flight simulator on low settings. Some of the reviews on here are just fake, some giving it a 10/10... Are you having a laugh!?

This felt like one of those made for TV Lifetime movies, that should've only been a one hour TV show. The pacing was slow and the normally comfortable 102 min runtime felt much longer. There was just too much filler and not enough substance to effectively fill in the runtime. It had heart, but mostly cheesy, especially with some of the dialogue. I didn't follow the true story, but the immaturity of the two kids portrayed was too much and borderline cringe, as were some of the dialogue from the leads. The entire production, including the writing and directing felt too amateur-hour-ish. You won't miss a thing if you skip this and just read about the true story by Googling it instead.

The plot makes the movie feel like it's a worthy watch. Pilot dies mid-flight, family must land the plane through harrowing circumstances to survive. Sold. Where this movie crashes and burns is with the acting, storyline, scripting, and the cinematography. I felt physically ill watching Dennis Quaid feign fear/anxiety. It was bad. And Heather's accent? Forget about it. The completely pointless characters. The lack of any meaningful character development. The gaping void of any flight sciences. The horrible special effects. The aggravating dialogue that was insultingly unrealistic. "Nobody says that!" My wife and I must have yelled that out two dozen times as we squirmed. This entire movie was just a really brutal offense on the senses. The only people rating this thing 5-stars are those who think they can 5-star review their way into heaven. In summation, they prayed to their sky daddy for lots of things in this movie... making a decent film, worthy of the true story, wasn't one of them. The only good reason to watch this, is so you can say you survived it. Enjoy!

This movie may as well have been fiction. Yes there was a man who had to land a Beech-craft King Air because the pilot died. But that's about where reality stops. Just about everything else depicted in this film is made up drama. About the worst abuse of creative license I have ever seen. And I use the word creative very loosely here. It's almost as if they made no attempt to research real world actions when this was written. Relying on the ignorance of their potential audience for it to succeed. I mean really? Two 10 year old kids ride their bicycles right up to an emergency situation at an airport. Right alongside all of the firetrucks and emergency crews on the runway. That is just one example of stupidity at the end of this film. The rest of this made up garbage is just as bad or worse. I gave it one star only because I had to. Otherwise it would be a big fat ZERO.