The tremendous success of ‘300’ should have helped Gerard Butler He became one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. It is not that she has lacked work since then, but the truth is that she has never reached as high as she aimed, largely due to the decline of the figure of the action hero in Hollywood. However, we must not forget that many times it seemed that Butler could give more of himself and, for one reason or another, that did not happen.
This has led to him being an actor who is always good in a thriller or action film, but without being a guarantee of anything. luckily with ‘The pilot’ He has found a perfect proposal to use his charisma and lead a very entertaining and honest hobby that never aspires to anything else. There will be viewers for whom that is not enough, but I will always appreciate that movies of this style continue to arrive in theaters from time to time.
face at all times
‘The Pilot’ recovers those action movies in which the heroes were very good and the villains very bad, without leaving room for the latter to have enough of a hook for even a certain sector of the public to become more interested in them. It is true that there are some nuances here, from the past of the protagonist to the particularities of the character of Mike Colter (‘Evil’), but in general lines that strong contrast predominates, making it clear at all times what it is going to offer the viewer.
The main consequence of all this is that ‘El Piloto’ is extremely predictable, but their own managers are aware of this and choose to go head-on at all times. The important thing here is that the story progresses, first with the problem suffered by the plane and then with the trouble they get into because of the place where they land urgently. Only with these data, anyone can anticipate everything that is happening, which does not mean that one cannot have a great time viewing it.
During its first half hour, ‘The Pilot’ uses Butler’s charisma so that the entire introduction phase of the characters does not become heavy, but the fluidity of which Jean-François Richet (‘Blood Father’) manages to endow a rather mechanical script that shouldn’t be overlooked either. In fact, it’s that last thing that prevents that fresh start to the 30-40 minute footage from crashing the movie before it’s even fully off the ground.
Better on the island than in the air
And that is when ‘El Piloto’ goes from being a successful thriller that would have swept the video stores during the 90s to something else much more estimable. As the threat against the protagonists grows, Richet also increases the intensity in the action scenes, also using different weapons so as not to lose our attention.
In fact, it is striking that when it comes to directing, the most vibrant sequence is Butler’s first encounter with a hostile person, since it is also the scene with a more physical component. Then it will be the shootings that come to the fore, to the point of freaking out beautifully during its final stretch to the delight of the complicit viewer with what it proposes.
Be careful, I’m not talking about impossible nonsense at the level of the ‘Fast & Furious’ saga, but I am talking about the fact that these shootings are becoming more and more. In this way, Richet manages to link the growing tension with an added touch of spectacularity that suits him fabulously. All this always from the low aspirations that ‘El Piloto’ has at all times, well, we must not forget that cost 25 million dollarsa ridiculous amount by today’s Hollywood standards, and of course, that also shows in what he can do to take the action to another level.
Otherwise, Colter is the only one with a chance to stand out beyond Butler and he knows how to read an apparently more complex character very well -his Gaspare is the closest to a moral gray that we are going to find in ‘El Piloto’- but when it comes down to it he is as simple and direct as everything else. In the end, it is still a luxury complement to raise the physical level and incidentally not destroy the credibility that Butler’s character could maintain. Of course, do not expect much character development, but here I am clear that it would have been a mistake, because precisely the main charm of the film is that it goes straight to the point without hesitation and being very clear about what it wants.
In short
‘The Pilot’ is going to be a joy for lovers of old-fashioned action movies that they miss those simple and direct films that do not want to complicate themselves more than necessary. It is evident that this limits her ceiling, but in exchange she is very close to it at all times and one can enjoy a lot with her as long as you do not ask her to be something different from what she aspires to.