Kollisionskurs – Panik im Tower (1998)

Kollisionskurs – Panik im Tower: Directed by Richard Howard. With Kiefer Sutherland, Bruce McGill, Kristy Swanson, Robert Sean Leonard. A disgraced former air traffic controller is called back into service when the airport’s traffic control system malfunctions.

“As an aviation enthusiast, I was interested in this movie, but technical errors and some flaws in the plot made the movie fall short of being great.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOne scene starts off with a 747 flying through clouds. As this flight evolves into a state of emergency, we later find out that the plane was really a 737. Anyone whou0026#39;s been at an airport knows the difference between the two.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFrom the opening scene Kiefer Sutherlandu0026#39;s character alludes to the home expansion project heu0026#39;s working on, presumably because of a new kid on the way. We never see the wife or this new kid, or what effect the stress an air traffic controller goes through has on a family. Including scenes with the wife and kid could have added something to the movie.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eEver since the end of Happy Days, we do not see much of Henry Winkler on TV or on the screen, but he effectively plays the role of a mechanic, frustrated by budget constraints and using the u0026quot;I told you sou0026quot; attitude when a problem arises. Kelly McGillis is also a performer seen less often these days, but does well as the savvy and assertive airport administrator.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe performers did their homework when it came to radio protocol and terminology. So often in the past, this is done so poorly. Hollywood may have finally caught on to this.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnother problem I had is that the movie appeared to have taken some of its content from the United Airlines DC-10 crash landing in Sioux City in 1989. They then took this incident and tweaked it a little to fit the story better. If the electrical components are fried and hydraulics are disabled, why was the distressed plane able to extend its landing gear? If only UAL flight 289 could have been so lucky ten years ago!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI think that itu0026#39;s a good movie, but not a great one… 6/10”