Freeview film of the day: Tuesday 12 September – Flight of the Phoenix

Flight of the Phoenix ★★★
11.00pm-1.05am Spike

This remake from director John Moore adds little to Robert Aldrich’s 1965 original, save for some superior special effects, but it’s a decent enough adventure yarn for those who haven’t seen the first film. The plot remains much the same: the survivors of a plane crash in the desert (here the Gobi; it was the Sahara in the original) seek to escape by building a second craft from the wreckage of the first. Dennis Quaid assumes the role of the pilot originally played by James Stewart, while Giovanni Ribisi steps into Hardy Kruger’s shoes to play the aircraft designer who conceives the idea of a new plane to rise phoenix-like from the ashes of the old. The production values are good – the opening crash is especially well staged – and the tension builds nicely. Overall, it’s a watchable retread, though perhaps not a particularly necessary one. Dave Aldridge