'Runway 34' review: Fine acting but not a smooth landing

Runway 34

Hindi (Theatres)

Director: Ajay Devgn

Cast: Ajay Devgn, Rakul Preet Singh, Amitabh Bachchan

3/5

Runway 34’ is in no way a perfect flight from takeoff to landing. But some positive aspects (fine performances and technical finesse) while the flight is in cruise mode prevent this aviation drama from disappearing into a black hole.

The film is based on events that happened during a flight from Doha a few years ago. It gets caught in rough weather, leading to a few terrifying moments, before landing safely in Kochi.

The plane’s captain (Ajay Devgn, who is also the producer and director of the film) and the first officer (Rakul Preet Singh, a surprise package for her measured performance) are forced to take some tough and contradictory decisions, including a Mayday call, at 35,000 feet above sea-level. The inevitable investigation that follows and the ensuing courtroom enquiry form the rest of the narrative.

But the main problem is the wafer-thin plot which lacks the depth and intensity of Denzel Washington’s ‘Flight’ (2012) or the pure drama and bravado of Tom Hank’s ‘Sully’ (2016).

It also lacks the novelty and rawness of ‘Airport’ (1970), perhaps the first airplane-themed film of our generation which was based on a novel by Arthur Hailey of the same name and the subsequent sequels (75, 77 and 79).

Even Bollywood’s own ‘Airlift’ (2016) and ‘Neerja’ (2016), also based on true events, had multiple layers of easily understandable human drama and complicated technical issues to make the journey palpably emotional and thrilling at the same time.

‘Runway 34’ clearly lacks that double-edged touch. Overall, it may hold some excitement for a first-time air traveller but for a frequent flyer, the long-haul flight is not worth the jet lag.