Having just arrived on Netflix, Jean-François Richet’s Plane is quickly becoming a fan-favorite action movie. The film thrusts audiences into a high-octane survival scenario when commercial pilot Brodie Torrance (Gerard Butler) heroically lands his storm-damaged aircraft on a remote island in the Philippines. The initial relief of surviving the crash is short-lived, as the passengers and crew soon discover they’ve landed in a lawless territory controlled by dangerous anti-government militias. With no immediate rescue in sight and his passengers taken hostage, Torrance must gather the courage he never knew he possessed. He finds an unlikely ally in Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter), a homicide suspect being extradited on the flight. Together, they embark on a desperate mission to save the hostages and find a way off the island, battling both hostile militants and the unforgiving jungle environment.
Videos by ComicBook.com
The appeal of Plane lies in its blend of intense airborne disaster, desperate survival against human threats, and the emergence of unexpected heroism. If Richet’s thriller left you gripping your armrests and craving more stories of high-stakes action, ordinary people pushed to extraordinary limits, or nerve-wracking rescue missions, then this list is for you. These films share Plane‘s DNA, whether it’s the claustrophobic tension of a crisis at 30,000 feet or the brutal fight for survival in hostile territory.
1) Con Air
Simon West’s action spectacle Con Air throws Nicolas Cage into the role of Cameron Poe, an Army Ranger newly paroled and eager to reunite with his family. His flight home, however, is no mere passenger jet. Instead, it’s a prison transport plane carrying some of the nation’s most dangerous criminals. Led by the chillingly intelligent Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom (John Malkovich), these convicts seize control mid-flight, unleashing chaos. This sets the stage for a quintessential 90s action ride, where Poe must navigate treacherous alliances among the prisoners, protect the few innocents caught in the crossfire, and find a way to alert U.S. Marshal Vince Larkin (John Cusack) on the ground.
Con Air thrives on the sheer audacity of its premise, delivering a memorable ensemble of villains and a relentless pace. The film successfully creates a powder keg atmosphere within the confines of the aircraft, amplifying the tension as Poe is forced to become an unlikely hero against overwhelming odds. Its blend of explosive set pieces and character-driven moments in a crisis situation offers a compelling viewing experience for those who appreciate stories of common people finding uncommon fortitude under extreme pressure.
2) Flight of the Phoenix
John Moore’s 2004 remake of Flight of the Phoenix drops a diverse group of oil workers and a mysterious traveler into an impossible situation after their cargo plane crashes deep within Mongolia’s Gobi Desert. Led by the pragmatic pilot Frank Towns (Dennis Quaid) and the enigmatic aircraft designer Elliott (Giovanni Ribisi), the survivors face dwindling resources, internal conflicts, and the unforgiving desert environment. Their only hope for escape hinges on a seemingly insane plan: to construct a new aircraft from the wreckage of their crashed plane before time runs out.
Flight of the Phoenix excels in depicting the sheer ingenuity and cooperation required when conventional rescue is not an option. It captures the immense pressure of a dwindling timeline, the psychological toll of extreme isolation, and the friction that arises among desperate individuals. The narrative’s focus on problem-solving under duress and the against-all-odds challenge offers a different flavor of survival, appealing to those who appreciate stories of human resourcefulness and determination when staring down certain doom.
3) Taken
When former CIA operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) delivered his iconic threat, “I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you,” it heralded a new wave of action thrillers. Pierre Morel’s Taken showcases Mills deploying his “very particular set of skills” after Parisian human traffickers abduct his teenage daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace). The film unfolds as a lightning-paced pursuit across the European underworld, with Mills systematically dismantling anyone obstructing his path to rescue his daughter, establishing Neeson as a formidable action hero.
Taken‘s enduring appeal lies in its visceral depiction of unwavering paternal fury translated into brutally effective action. The film strips away complexity for the singular drive of a father’s no-holds-barred fight to reclaim his child. This raw protective instinct, which pushes Mills to overcome seemingly insurmountable criminal forces, resonates with audiences who appreciate a clear-cut rescue mission where the protagonist’s specialized abilities are unleashed with relentless precision.
4) Non-Stop
Jaume Collet-Serra’s Non-Stop stars Liam Neeson as Bill Marks, a U.S. Air Marshal whose troubled past shadows him on a transatlantic flight. The journey takes a sharp, menacing turn when Marks begins receiving anonymous text messages threatening a passenger’s death every 20 minutes unless an exorbitant ransom is paid. The entirety of the ensuing drama unfolds within the claustrophobic confines of the Boeing 777, compelling Marks to unmask a killer among 150 souls, even as damning evidence begins to paint him as the perpetrator.
Non-Stop‘s effectiveness is rooted in its tight plotting and the director’s skillful manipulation of suspense within a single, inescapable setting. Collet-Serra transforms the passenger cabin into a high-stakes arena of shifting suspicions and escalating paranoia, where every character is a potential threat or victim. By consistently twisting the narrative and exploiting the inherent vulnerabilities of air travel, Non-Stop maintains a palpable sense of urgency, making it a compelling choice for those who appreciate thrillers that meticulously build tension through intricate plotting in a contained environment.
5) Executive Decision
A daring airborne infiltration provides the backbone for Stuart Baird’s 90s action-thriller Executive Decision. When terrorists hijack a Boeing 747 heading towards Washington D.C., with plans to deploy a lethal nerve agent, an unconventional solution is enacted. A U.S. Army Special Forces team, accompanied by intelligence analyst Dr. David Grant (Kurt Russell), must board the compromised airliner mid-flight from an experimental stealth aircraft. Their mission is to neutralize the hijackers and disarm the weapon before an unthinkable catastrophe occurs.
What sets Executive Decision apart is its intricate depiction of a high-stakes tactical operation, blending stealth, strategy, and close-quarters combat. The film builds suspense not only from the overt threat posed by the terrorists but also from the complex challenges and inherent risks of the covert mission itself. It’s a well-crafted piece for audiences who appreciate thrillers that emphasize teamwork, ingenuity, and precision under pressure.
6) Captain Phillips
Based on a harrowing true story, Paul Greengrass’s Captain Phillips plunges viewers into the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. cargo ship Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates. Tom Hanks delivers an extraordinary performance as Captain Richard Phillips, who, when his unarmed vessel is overrun, must employ cunning and immense composure to protect his crew and engage in a terrifying battle of wills with the pirate leader, Muse (Barkhad Abdi).
The profound impact of Captain Phillips lies in its authentic portrayal of leadership and human resilience when confronted with life-threatening adversity. Plus, the film’s docudrama style lends a visceral, immediate quality to the unfolding crisis. As a result, Greengrass crafts a narrative that is both an edge-of-your-seat thriller and a compelling psychological study, exploring the intense pressures faced by Phillips and the desperate motivations of his captors. It’s a powerful cinematic experience for those drawn to fact-based stories that illuminate the extraordinary courage individuals can summon in the most dire of circumstances.
7) No Escape
Owen Wilson delivers a surprisingly intense performance in John Erick Dowdle’s No Escape, a film that drops an American family into an immediate fight for their lives. Jack Dwyer, an engineer, has just moved his wife Annie (Lake Bell) and their two young daughters to an unnamed Southeast Asian country when a violent coup d’état erupts. With rebels executing foreigners on sight, the Dwyers are forced into a chaotic flight through a city transformed into a warzone, finding an unexpected ally in Hammond (Pierce Brosnan), a seasoned expatriate.
No Escape excels at creating a sense of immediate danger, forcing an ordinary family into an extraordinarily violent and unpredictable environment. The narrative focuses on their visceral fear and their moment-to-moment struggle for survival, emphasizing parental protective instincts pushed to their absolute limit. It’s an effective and often unsettling thriller for those who appreciate stories where the stakes are deeply personal and the protagonists must rely on raw courage and quick thinking to navigate a world suddenly devoid of safety or order.
What other movies would you recommend to fans of Plane? Drop your suggestions in the comments below!
Most Viewed
-
Images Courtesy of Miramax Films and the Weinstein Company -
Image Courtesy of Marvel Studios
