Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'Flight World War II'

Written by Scott Edwards

There are some things in history that people would rather not remember. This seems to be an issue for more people ever year and it is not hurting the adults as much as it is hurting our youth. When our children get an edited look at the history books, they will be missing out on more than they could ever know. But nowadays it is easier to give our children an assignment to look up on the internet and if they are truly interested in the subject they can clink on the adjoining links that pull up on the web. This may not give them the entire view since many people would like to get the work done and be over it, but there are a couple young minds out there that want to know as much as possible, assignment or not.

Flight 42 is packed and on its way to London and everything seems to be going fine. Checking in with the tower consistently, Captain William Strong has a good feeling about this flight, but then he starts to notice that his instruments are starting to act up. Checking in with the tower again, he is told that the flight has clear skies ahead, but when he looks out the window, a massive electrical storm has appeared and there is no way to fly around it. Flying through the storm, day quickly turns into night and most of the aviation equipment has stopped working altogether. Having his co-pilot check out all of the gear, everything seems to be getting power, it is just no longer working.

With the basics still working along with their radar, Captain Strong is convinced that they will be okay. Without being able to get a response on the radio, the Captain takes the plane down to get a look at the layout under them to find out exactly where they are. Seeing what appears to be more clouds ahead, the co-pilot sees something much more ominous, fires burning below. With other aircraft starting to show up on the radar, everyone on the plane sees a group of bombers making a run over a city. While there are explosions below, the Captain is able to reach a young Corporal on the radio and ask where he is. Being in a war zone, Corporal Nigel is reluctant to say, but when the year 1940 comes out of his mouth, the Captain and crew have to start believing that they have been sent back in time.

With two college professors on the plane that know everything about the subject, they start to get to work on trying to find out exactly where the plane is since the British do not have a functioning radar yet. As the professors talk to Nigel, the facts that the young Corporal is telling them do not match up with what is in the history books. With this being an alternate history, all of the facts that they know have been thrown out the window. Trying to come up with a plan of how to get to safety, the plane is attacked by smaller fighters. With the only safety in the clouds, Captain Strong makes the decision to stay high above the enemy until it is absolutely necessary to establish radio contact once again. Needing more warning about where the fighters are since their radar only has a small perimeter, the crew decides to take the plane down and have it run from the ground so they can get advanced warning of the German attack planes coming their way. The plan is all well and good, but what would happen if their advanced technology falls into the wrong hands on the ground?

This movie grabbed my attention from the brief description that was listed, and I am happy that I gave it a shot. I liked the idea of an alternate history being presented before everyone on the flight to make them understand that they may be part of the solution. Although not every idea would have worked, like the attempt to kill Hitler when they get on the ground, they are able to stay in the skies and fight off their own fears about what might happen to them if they are not successful. It is an interesting premise and I enjoyed how the story played out, even with having the British contemplating about shooting the commercial plane out of the air to keep the German’s from acquiring the advanced technology. Happy Viewing.

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