Parents' Guide to Turbulence

This forgotten aviation action-thriller was an unlikely hit with 1990s rental audiences, following its dive-bombing performance at the box office. Released the same year as cult favorite Con Air, Turbulence has an intriguing cast and setup but disappointingly fails to exploit the tension it builds during its opening stages. Liotta is, as usual, a reliable presence, but the smooth talking tendencies of his convicted serial killer character are jettisoned out the air lock far too early. Brendan Gleeson dutifully chews both the scenery and a cartoonish Southern States accent despite being required to do little more than raise a ruckus. Opposite them, Holly isn't given much to work with, either, the back story of her flight attendant in the right place at the wrong time another aspect seeming lost in transit by the script's baggage handlers. Quite where the movie's reported $55 million budget was spent is another mystery, as for an action movie this is traveling light on spectacular set pieces. So, after a solid take-off, it's fair to say that Turbulence flubs both its in-flight entertainment and its landing.