Panic in the Skies!
The cockpit of a Boeing 747 is struck by lightning during takeoff for a flight to Europe, fatally injuring the flight crew. Laurie, the senior flight attendant, enlists the aid of passenger Brett Young. They determine that the autopilot can bring the plane in for a landing, but soon learn that the autopilot is locking onto the transponders of airfields at random, including signals from small airports with runways too short to accommodate the jumbo jet. Meanwhile, federal officials on the ground who have lost radio contact with the jet debate whether the plane should be shot down to prevent a more disastrous crash in a heavily populated area.
Insights
Plot Summary
A commercial airliner is en route to its destination when a mysterious and deadly virus begins to spread among the passengers and crew. As the death toll rises, the remaining survivors, including a doctor and a flight attendant, must race against time to find a cure and prevent the virus from reaching the ground.
Critical Reception
Panic in the Skies! received mixed to negative reviews, often criticized for its predictable plot, weak character development, and reliance on genre tropes. While some viewers found it to be a passable B-movie disaster film, critics generally pointed to its lack of originality and execution.
What Reviewers Say
- Criticized for its unoriginal and formulaic disaster movie plot.
- Character development is often shallow, making it difficult for audiences to connect with the characters' plights.
- Relies heavily on predictable scares and manufactured tension.
Google audience: Audience reception for Panic in the Skies! is generally lukewarm. While some viewers enjoyed it as a straightforward, albeit uninspired, disaster flick, many found it to be predictable and lacking in compelling storytelling or character depth.
Fun Fact
The film was made as a television movie and, as such, had a smaller budget and scope compared to theatrical disaster films of the era.
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