Reactions visible to anyoneReactions visible to owner’s Close FriendsReactions only visible to youDraft entryVisible to anyone (with link)Visible to the member’s friends (with link)Only visible to you
If you weren't afraid of flying before, you will be now.
On a flight transporting dangerous convicts, murderer Ryan Weaver manages to break free and cause complete chaos throughout the plane. As various people on board fall victim to Weaver, it is ultimately down to flight attendant Teri Halloran to keep the aircraft from crashing, with on-ground support from an air traffic controller. While Halloran struggles to pilot the plane, Weaver continues to terrorize the surviving members of the crew.
This is yet another 90s thriller that must have seemed like such disposable braindead schlock when it was released but now feels like a precious relic of a bygone artform. A 100-minute thrill ride featuring an unhinged Liotta performance full of psycho charmer grace notes, plus it's a Christmas movie.
A slasher in the sky with Ray Liotta at his most hilarious and unhinged best? Fuck yes. Seriously I don't think I appreciated just how much fun Liotta was in this at the time - definitely enjoyed it more on a rewatch.
the schizoid and dumbed down myth of "the good (liotta) vs the bad (gleeson) criminal" is possibly more interesting to analyze nowadays than in the 90s when this campy airplane hostage boomer hit the video stores & TV dinner tables pretty successfully after bombing at the box office.
like a good reactionary film does though Liotta is becoming even more evil by the end of the game (so there's no good criminal, it was only a joke guys, right?! RIGHT?!). maybe that's what trump had in mind when he appointed stallone & gibson to take care of the unholy place hollywood has become? I guess he cheered for big ray and his misogyny here anyway. also: will we see Turbulence 4 now, in the new golden age of american cinema?
love how this starts out like some sort of legitimately serious Passenger 57/Con Air riff and then it turns into a histrionic live action cartoon with Liotta doing his best Wile E. Coyote just prancing around the plane with different weapons, winking at the camera like we are all just here to watch him wreak havoc — and we are
Ray Liotta’s crazy acting was a bit too much. 1997 had two prisoner plane transport films come out, which is kinda crazy, but I haven’t seen Con Air yet. It should be the better film, but don’t hold me to that. The plane photography was decent, and when it crashes through buildings, that was awesome.
Critics are easy to crash Turbulence as a cluttered and horrid thriller about a Christmas flight hijacked by a criminal intent of killing everyone on board. Granted, the film’s first half is clichéd and weary but things took a sharp turn midway; suddenly the storytelling became disturbing and unconventional. Acting wise, Ray Liotta is believable as a lunatic convict while Lauren Holly is serviceable as the stewardess who found her strength to strategize, fight back and even land a plane sans formal training. The fun may be too little, too late but I liked it. If your Christmas season watch list is few slots empty, you can add Turbulence for an escapist, forgettable watch.
Ray Liotta at his most unhinged! Despite being a theatrical flop, due to promotional trailers being pulled after the crash of TWA Flight 800, this film is better than it has any right to be. Like another 1997 pairing of Volcano & Dante’s Peak this was is oddly similar to Con Air that was released just 5 months later. Incredible cast of character actors and across from Liotta you have Lauren Holly being a total badass. And all set at Christmas, sign me up
Robert Butler, director of Night of the Juggler, simultaneously gave us the second best plane hijacking film of 1997 (behind Con Air) and the best plane/airport set Christmas genre film this side of Die Hard 2; features an all timer performance from a scowling, singing, utterly manic Ray Liotta and about 2/3 of the runtime is an extended action sequence - spawned two sequels, should have spawned more
"Turbulence" is a 1997 thriller directed by Robert Butler. Starring Ray Liotta and Lauren Holly, the film's narrative depicts an insane plane ride from hell after a cross-country prisoner transfer onboard the aircraft goes wrong. Liotta plays Ryan Weaver, a felon who questionably might hold some innocence to his name as he claims the police planted evidence to arrest him. While Weaver is transported with another felon named Stubbs (played by Brendan Gleeson sporting a southern US drawl), havoc ensues. This causes much of the flight staff compromised and Weaver calling the shots. The only soul personality left that could possibly fly they plain is Holly's character of Teri Halloran, a flight stewardess who combating if she can trust Weaver…
"Turbulence? More like TURDulence" - Gene Shalit, I assume, at some point.
This was a script that sold for a million dollars!!??
It oozes that 90s style and has got a handsome visual sheen, Ray Liotta's madcap performance, and Shirley "Batman: The Animated Series" Walker's bombastic score, but this has got zero tension! Almost everyone gets killed off-screen! Half-the film is just Liotta walking very slowly toward Lauren Holly as the camera shakes.
This was directed by a 70-year-old TV vet who quit the business after this movie because he had finally said everything he had to say.
Letterboxd is an independent service created by a small team, and we rely mostly on the support of our members to maintain our site and apps. Please consider upgrading to a Pro account—for less than a couple bucks a month, you’ll get cool additional features like all-time and annual stats pages (example), the ability to select (and filter by) your favorite streaming services, and no ads!
