Flight World War II
Flight World War II (also known as Flight 1942) is a 2015 direct-to-video film released by The Asylum. The film was directed by Emile Edwin Smith and stars Faran Tahir. The film was on released June 2, 2015 to generally mixed reviews. Its plot is similar to The Final Countdown, a 1980 film about a modern aircraft carrier sent back in time under similar circumstances. The plot is also similar to an episode of The Twilight Zone named "The Odyssey of Flight 33". It won 2 awards at the Atlanta Horror Film Festival in 2015,[1] "Best Sci-Fi Feature." and "Best Visual Effects."[2]
| Flight World War II | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Emile Edwin Smith |
| Produced by | David Michael Latt David Rimawi Paul Bales |
| Written by | Jacob Cooney Bill Hanstock |
| Starring | Faran Tahir Robbie Kay Aqueela Zoll |
| Music by | Isaac Sprintis |
| Cinematography | Ben Demaree |
| Edited by | Rob Pallatina |
| Distributed by | The Asylum |
Release date |
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Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
Airline Pilot Captain William Strong (Faran Tahir) is flying International Airlines Flight 42 from Washington, D.C. to London. Among the passengers are two World War 2 historians attending an event in London and two soldiers. Air traffic control notifies the pilots of clear skies, but, moments later, they come across an electromagnetic storm. With their instruments malfunctioning, they have no choice but to enter the storm and unknowingly enter a wormhole. The wormhole transports them back to 1940. Strong assures the passengers that they are safe. The plane flies in the dark for some time before coming across German strike aircraft bombing Saint-Nazaire. Strong escapes the chaos, and assures the passengers of their safety. Meanwhile, the historians, through their observations, discover that what they have been experiencing line up with what happened during World War 2 and the storm had transported them back to this time. They attempt to convince the pilots and the crew. Meanwhile, a suspicious passenger overhears the ensuing argument and eavesdrops.
Amidst his disbelief, Strong gets into contact with a British Army radio operator in France, Corporal Nigel Sheffield, but both men find each other's story unbelievable. Strong and the historians are later able to convince Nigel and his superiors with their advanced information that they are truly from the future. Upon questioning Sheffield they discover that history is not gone as it should be; the Dunkirk evacuation was apparently a complete disaster for the Allies (rather than a victory for the Allied forces that were evacuated successfully), and the Germans somehow have the advanced Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter in 1940, when it historically only became operational in 1944, and that somehow they have developed accurate surface to air missiles. The crew concludes that this is an alternative timeline in which the Germans have somehow accelerated their technological advancement and are much closer to victory than they historically were. The historians are attempting to think up a way to help the Allies win and correct history when the eavesdropping passenger loudly announces what he has learned and tries to persuade others to hijack the aircraft and kill Hitler. This escalates into a fight, but the overzealous passenger and his faction are subdued.
As the crew and passengers struggle to choose their next move, Sheffield notifies Strong of incoming Me 262s which had been ordered to shoot him down. The jets take the aircraft under fire, and the airliner sustains damage even as Strong undergoes evasive action. They manage to evade the attackers momentarily, but only after taking serious damage and the co-pilot is wounded. Desperate and under persuasion from other crew members, Strong reveals the truth to the passengers and asks for assistance. With their help, part of the aircraft's systems is repaired. When contact with Corporal Sheffield is recovered, they learn through him that the Allies also do not have radar as they were supposed to. After yet another German attack, the historians believe that they were 'sent' here to change history themselves; they were to be the ones who gave the Allies radar.
Strong and the others come up with the idea to cut out the aircraft's modern radar out of the nose and airdrop it to Corporal Sheffield's unit so they can use it to assist both themselves and the Allied war effort. German ground forces attempt to intercept the airdrop, but British troops defeat them and successfully retrieve and put the set to use. Suddenly, the German fighters return and hit the airliner with a missile, punching a hole in its hull and killing some of the passengers. Sheffield then uses the airliner's radar to direct Strong's piloting to escape, but he is unable to shake off the German jets. The airliner is about to be destroyed when British Hurricane fighters arrive and drive the Germans away, confirming to the crew that they are truly in 1940.
Unexpectedly, a storm like the one that brought them to 1940 appears. Bidding farewell to Corporal Sheffield, Strong pilots the plane through it and returns to the modern day. Captain Strong eventually manages to glide the plane to a safe landing, discovering that they have landed in Berlin, fortunately not under Nazi control. As the passengers exit the plane, Strong moves to assist an older man writing in his notebook. When the man stands up and closes his notebook, Strong notices that it is addressed to "Nigel Sheffield II." While Strong stares in amazement, the old man tells him that "there's no time like the present" and leaves.
Cast
- Faran Tahir as William Strong
- Robbie Kay as Cpl. Nigel Sheffield
- Aqueela Zoll as Cameron Hicks
- Matias Ponce as Daniel Prentice
References
- Atlanta Horror Film Festival in 2015
- http://www.theasylum.cc/product.php?id=269
External links
- Official site at The Asylum
- Flight World War II on IMDb
- Atlanta Horror Film Festival