On a Wing and a Prayer

2023

Drama

25
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 56% · 25 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 56% · 250 ratings
IMDb Rating 5.5/10 10 6317 6.3K

airplane based on true story family duringcreditsstinger irreverent

Plot summary

After their pilot dies unexpectedly mid-flight, passenger Doug White must safely land a plane and save his entire family from insurmountable danger.

Director

Sean McNamara Photo
Sean McNamara

Top cast

Brandon Quinn Photo
Brandon Quinn as Ellis Ross
Dennis Quaid Photo
Dennis Quaid as Doug White
Heather Graham Photo
Heather Graham
E. Roger Mitchell Photo
E. Roger Mitchell as Brian Norton
720p.BluRay 720p.WEB 1080p.BluRay 1080p.WEB 2160p.WEB
937.41 MB
1280*534
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us   ar   cn   cz   dk   nl   fi   fr   gr   il   in   hu   id   it   ja   kr   ms   no   pl   pt   ro   es   sv   ta   te   th   uk   vi  
23.976 fps
1 hr 41 min
Seeds 4
942.3 MB
1280*534
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us   ar   cn   cz   dk   nl   fi   fr   gr   il   in   hu   id   it   ja   kr   ms   no   pl   pt   ro   es   sv   ta   te   th   uk   vi  
23.976 fps
1 hr 42 min
Seeds 1
1.88 GB
1920*800
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us   ar   cn   cz   dk   nl   fi   fr   gr   il   in   hu   id   it   ja   kr   ms   no   pl   pt   ro   es   sv   ta   te   th   uk   vi  
23.976 fps
1 hr 41 min
Seeds 7
1.89 GB
1920*800
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us   ar   cn   cz   dk   nl   fi   fr   gr   il   in   hu   id   it   ja   kr   ms   no   pl   pt   ro   es   sv   ta   te   th   uk   vi  
23.976 fps
1 hr 42 min
Seeds 5
4.56 GB
3840*2160
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
N/A
Seeds 1

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by jhtexas 2 / 10

Based on a True but Highly Exaggerated Story

Having listened to the actual ATC recordings of this event several times on YouTube, I was excited to see a movie was made of the event but found this video highly offensive. In the opening, viewers are told, "What you are about to see is a true story..." Doug White is portrayed as a near zero-time pilot who doesn't even know proper ATC lingo, but in reality he was a licensed pilot having flown single engine planes. The King Air was far beyond his experience being a twin engine and far more complex than the Cessna planes he flew years before.I found very annoying all the extra drama, inaccuracies, and the silliness from the two kids and every scene they were in. The slow motion scene where the young girl walks outside, looks skyward, and gets hit with a raindrop was just icing on the Corny Scale. I guess the writers felt another crisis was needed by adding the onboard medical emergency where one sister struggled to save the other's life while mom looks over her shoulder with a near ho hum response as the girl becomes entrapped in the luggage netting. And toss in a 3rd near death issue with Doug flying into the thunderstorm. I think the writers dropped the ball by not having the plane run out of fuel on final approach so that Doug had to fly a glider to the runway and either land it or die. And in the real story, the pilot could not be removed from the left seat, so they strapped him back in to try to keep him from falling into the controls.There is truth surrounding this movie. Doug White is a real person, he and his family were on a King Air where the pilot died, controllers helped him to get the plane to the airport, and they all survived. The actual story itself is fascinating and ripe with drama, tension, and relief in the ending. Simply staying true and telling the story as it really occurred would have made a 10 star movie, but this story was ruined by writers who felt the need to dress it up. A true story? Hardly. Sadly, the truth got lost in the fantasies of the writers. Do yourself a favor. Go to YouTube, find the event, and listen to it. You'll be on the edge of your seat from the first radio call to the landing. So much better than this highly fictionalized movie.
Reviewed by MD65 5 / 10

Could have much better if it had remained true to the actual characters

This movie which is based on a true story could have been so much better. Dennis Quaid did a fine job in his performance and those who portrayed his family did an ok job. My major complaint is why did Hollywood need to make out two preteen kids (who was not involved in the real event) act like they are geniuses. I found this addition very distracting and insulting to have two kids listening to air traffic controllers and trying to explain what is happening to each other and us the audience. This part was totally fictionalized and unnecessary. Other than it was on ok family movie. Could have been better though.
Reviewed by The_Devin_G 5 / 10

Decent movie. Too many annoying kids.

This movie comes really close to being good, but falls short because of the addition of pointless and annoying characters. Characters that have no value in driving the storyline or improving the plot in any way.I wanted to enjoy this movie, it's based upon a true story that is amazing on its own, and really doesn't need any "help" or additions to the story to make it more interesting to viewers.For some reason, movie studios love placing kids in pointless roles in movies. It happens way too much and only serves to break up the tension and lowers the quality of the movie. Children overreacting and being dramatic in a true story like this isn't funny, comedic, or cute, it's just infuriating and annoying.I don't think it's a stretch at all to say that the movie could have easily been improved with some good editing. If the filler scenes with the two "aviation enthusiasts" children were removed, and instead we simply had a few more scenes with the interactions between the aircraft and the aircraft tower, it would make for a much more enjoyable watch.
Read more IMDb reviews

17 Comments

Be the first to leave a comment