After B次元官网网址淎irplane!B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淎irport,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淯p in the Air,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淔light,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淪nakes on a Plane,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淣on-StopB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淭he Terminal,B次元官网网址� we have finally arrived, like weary passengers reaching an unexotic destination, at

The Gerard Butler thriller, straight and to the point, has dispensed with anything too complicated in its title. We can, no doubt, look forward to future installments like B次元官网网址淏us,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淎utomobileB次元官网网址� and, if weB次元官网网址檙e lucky, B次元官网网址淏oat.B次元官网网址�

But if B次元官网网址淧lane,B次元官网网址� which opens in theaters Friday, seems, well, kind of plain, it effectively reflects the ethos of Jean-Fran莽ois RichetB次元官网网址檚 straightforward and serviceable action flick. Man fly plane. Plane go down. Man (maybe) fly plane again.

And Butler has gotten quite good at keeping these kinds of movies grounded. He plays Brodie Torrance, a pilot for Trailblazer Airlines whose next flight is a New YearB次元官网网址檚 run from Singapore to Tokyo. Despite a worrisome storm system in between, heB次元官网网址檚 ordered by the airline to fly directly through it, to economize fuel.

B次元官网网址淧laneB次元官网网址� doesnB次元官网网址檛 have much to say about anything. But this critical touch B次元官网网址� and the subsequent scenes within the Trailblazer corporate offices, with Tony Goldwyn and Paul Ben-Victor B次元官网网址� will surely strike a chord.

Americans are today bonded by nothing as much as their common loathing for the capriciousness of commercial airlines. The well-timed B次元官网网址淧laneB次元官网网址� flies into theaters just as . These are problems, surely, that Gerard Butler could also fix.

But BrodieB次元官网网址檚 real problem is that weather system. A lightning strike knocks out the planeB次元官网网址檚 controls, forcing an emergency landing on a remote jungle island in a separatist-controlled corner of the Philippines. Brodie, a former Royal Air Force pilot who once put a belligerent passenger in a chokehold, relies on his know-how to captain the survivors and defend them from local rebels. Evan Dane Taylor appealingly plays their alert leader, Junmar.

There were only a handful of passengers on the flight to begin with B次元官网网址� one way to keep the extras to a minimum and put more budget toward airplane maneuvers. Most notable among them is a convicted murderer (Mike Colter) being extradited back to the U.S. He and Brodie team up to rescue the passengers, taken as hostages, and make an escape.

There isnB次元官网网址檛 anything particularly specific about any of this. B次元官网网址淧laneB次元官网网址� is as broadly sketched as its title.

Puerto Rico doubles here for Philippines, and most of the story elements, too, feel like theyB次元官网网址檙e stand-ins for basic plot conventions. But thereB次元官网网址檚 plenty of texture just in the actors and in ButlerB次元官网网址檚 taut, sweaty performance. Sometimes a film without any baggage can B次元官网网址� if not quite soar B次元官网网址� at least make it to the gate on time.

B次元官网网址淧lane,B次元官网网址� a Lionsgate release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for violence and language. Running time: 107 minutes. Two stars out of four.

B次元官网网址擩ake Coyle, The Associated Press