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Theres something about setting a movie 30,000 feet in the air that facilitates action.
Perhaps it ignites, like in Love at First Sight.
Maybe its action, like in Non-Stop.
Even reptiles found their way into the cockpit in Snakes on a Plane.
Whatever the genre, planes continue to serve as the setting for some of our favorite movies.
To mark the occasion, here are five of the best movies set on a plane.
Con Air
In the mid-90s, Nicolas Cage made a strong argument for the biggest action star in Hollywood.
Red Eye
“Red Eye” is a proper thriller.
When Jackson sits next to Lisa on the plane, she thinks its a charming coincidence.
Lisa works at the hotel where the Homeland Security executive is currently staying.
If Lisa refuses to help, Jackson will kill her father (Brian Cox).
The ensuing cat-and-mouse thriller is genuinely scary and full of tension.
The 70s ushered in a series of disaster films, notably the Airport series.
Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker decided to spoof the genre in the 80s with Airplane!
Using 1957s Zero Hour!
as inspiration, Airplane!
follows Ted Striker (Robert Hays), an ex-war pilot who developed a fear of flying.
Embrace the silliness of Airplane!
Its 87 minutes of continuous gags, jokes, and Leslie Nielsen.Watch onAMC Plus
2.
Flight
Out of the five films on this list, Flight spends the least time on an actual airplane.
On the morning of the flight, Whip ingests cocaine after an all-night bender.
The flight goes haywire after the plane suffers mechanical failure, causing it to go into a deep dive.
Air Force One
Putting Harrison Ford in the center of an action thriller is a recipe for success.
But having him play the President of the United States was the icing on the cake.
President James Marshall (Ford) is in Moscow with his family for a diplomatic dinner.
As a former army veteran, Marshall relies on his training to pick off some of the unsuspecting hijackers.
He must hurry, though, if he wants to save his family.
