Movies range between all kinds of entertainment levels. The most surprising to viewers are the ones that are bad enough to still make a lasting impression. Then there are those that are just bad. Turbulence (1997) was one of those bad movies. There wasn’t much to enjoy because of how frustratingly idiotic the script was while watching it play out. Who puts criminals onto a civilian aircraft? Despite the cast of actors being relatively well known, the acting was bad and the lead was really not that engaging. The film didn’t even make its budget back. So with that kind of outcome, who would be stupid enough to produce a sequel? Well apparently someone, because Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying (1999) came out two years later. The thing is, why make it a sequel if it has nothing to do with the last film? This is not a franchise, who are these people trying to kid? This is just the beginning of shockers.
The story for this entry is about a group of random people who, cue the title name, have a fear of flying. Really, like no viewer could tell. Apart of this group is Martin (Craig Sheffer), Jessica (Jennifer Beals), Elliot (Jeffrey Nordling), Russ Bell (Andrew Kavadas) and assorted other lesser known actors. All of whom have their own goofy quirks that make them sort of one dimensional except for the few specifically mentioned. Together, they attend a class to overcome taking a flight to another destination. Is that even a thing? Little does anyone know that something dangerous has secretly been brought on board too. The script for this entry was written by three people; Brendan Broderick, Kevin Bernhardt, and Rob Kerchner from Casper: A Spirited Beginning (1997) and Addams Family Reunion (1998). The director was David Mackay from Breaking Free (1995) and The Lesser Evil (1998).
Most of the credits listed so far don’t mean a whole lot considering where they stand among popularity. Though this does say something in regards to the quality of the script. The writing itself is nothing special. Characters are formatted a certain way that any familiar viewer would be able to anticipate their outcome by the completion of the film. If there’s a love triangle somewhere, there’s bound to be a change in that since there’s always got to be a guy who ends up with a girl or vise versa. Most of the acting is also very unenthusiastic. The movie even has Tom Berenger in the film as ground control and almost every line that comes out of his mouth sounds tired and annoyed. More interesting is that joining ground control is Tamara Phillips playing the boss of Berenger’s character. Phillips would later voice Komari Vosa in Star Wars Bounty Hunter for PS2.
However, despite these callouts, the lead characters are far more inviting in their performances. Jennifer Beals may not have the craziest of roles but she puts up a far better front than the previous female lead in the first film. Craig Sheffer as Martin is okay as the lead. At least for him, he sounds intelligent and seems like the most reasonable person. His voice also catches the ear pretty well too. Lastly the villain behind the whole situation is by far the most entertaining for one sole reason; they are terrible at their job. Half the time, the villain is throwing tantrums and nonchalant comments that no real threatening hijacker would make. This is the main reason why this entry is so much more watchable than the first film, which may have people scratching their heads. Wasn’t Ray Liotta in the first film just as over the top? Yes, but his performance felt too familiar since he’s played killers before.
This villain is played by someone nowhere near the same level and managed to make it something. The cinematography shot by Gordon Verheul was decent. Having done only TV work prior, as his first theatrical run it pays off. The interior shots of the plane and lower deck look real. There are only a couple shots of CGI that don’t look believable but it’s not much. Lastly the film score by Don Davis wasn’t much to say anything about. The musical tracks themselves sound very stock and generic making them practically indistinguishable from each other. It’s kind of a shame considering that he would compose music for The Matrix (1999) of the same year. Maybe he got too caught up in that. Yet somehow this sequel got its own album release. That’s very amazing.
As a franchise, it doesn’t pull up much from where the first film left off but does have a little more to give. The music and story are still bland and overall acting still isn’t good. However, the main leads are okay with decent cinematography and a wildly moronic villain.
Points Earned --> 5:10
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