''Free Fall'' is a 1999 American-Canadian-German

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

directed by Mario Azzopardi, based on a story by

Mark Homer Mark Homer (born 1973) is an English actor and writer. He is best known for playing Tony Hills in the popular British soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 1995 to 1999. His subsequent work includes guest appearances in ''Silent Witness'' and ''Spine ...

, and screenplay by Ken Wheat and Jim Wheat. The film stars

Jaclyn Smith Jacquelyn Ellen "Jaclyn" Smith (born October 26, 1945) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is best known for her role as Kelly Garrett in the television series '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), and was the only original female lead ...

Bruce Boxleitner Bruce William Boxleitner (born May 12, 1950) is an American actor and science fiction and suspense writer. He is known for his leading roles in the television series '' How the West Was Won'', '' Bring 'Em Back Alive'', ''Scarecrow and Mrs. King ...

, Scott Wentworth,

Hannes Jaenicke Hannes Jaenicke (born 26 February 1960 in Frankfurt am Main) is a German actor, voice actor, audiobook narrator, and author. He has played in various television-programs and movies, including '' Lost Treasure''. After he was born, Jaenicke and hi ...

and

Hayden Christensen Hayden Christensen (; born April 19, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader in the ''Star Wars'' media franchise. He first appeared in the prequel trilogy films, '' Star Wars: Episode ...

. The film documents an unusual series of crashes that involves sabotaged airliners."Angst über den Wolken" (in German).
''Prisma (prisma-online.de).'' Retrieved: July 18, 2010.

Plot

After Trans Regional Airlines is hit by a series of mysterious aircraft crashes, National Transportation Safety Board safety expert Renee Brennan (

) calls for the grounding of the airline's aircraft, despite opposition from the CEO of the airline, Richard Pierce ( Chad Everett). Her plans are thwarted by current boyfriend Mark Ettinger (

), a

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

inspector who repeatedly countermands her orders. At the latest crash scene, Renee receives a call from a "fan" who appreciates her work and asks if she appreciates his. She then realizes that the crashes are the work of a madman. After Mark is himself killed in a crash, Renee and FBI agent Scott Wallace (Scott Wentworth) track down the saboteur, Michael Ives (Hannes Jaenicke), a former pilot seeking revenge against the airline for labelling a fatal plane crash in Seattle as pilot error and the pilot was his wife, Karen. The pair are themselves caught in a trap the killer set for them at 33,000 feet.

Cast

as Renee Brennan *

as Mark Ettinger * Scott Wentworth as Scott Wallace *

as Michael Ives *

as Patrick Brennan *

Nigel Bennett Nigel Bennett (born 19 November 1949) is a British-Canadian actor, director, and writer who has been based in Canada since 1986. He is best known for playing the vampire patriarch Lucien LaCroix in the TV series ''Forever Knight'', for which h ...

as Donald Caldwell * Chad Everett as Richard Pierce *

Brett Halsey Brett Halsey (born Charles Oliver Hand, June 20, 1933) is an American film actor, sometimes credited as Montgomery Ford. He appeared in B pictures A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during ...

as Chief of Security Tom Mason * Tanja Reichert as Stewardess Holly Nesbitt *

Robyn Stevan Robin Miriam Carlsson (born 12 June 1979), known as Robyn (), is a Swedish pop singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. She arrived on the music scene with her 1995 debut album, ''Robyn Is Here'', which produced two ''Billboard'' Hot 100 t ...

as Polly James * Philip Craig as Captain Markham *

Rod Wilson Rodriques "Rod" Wilson (born November 12, 1981) is a former American football linebacker and coach who is a defensive assistant for the Kansas City Chiefs. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played ...

as Captain Meyers * Paul Hubbard as Co-Pilot * Anne Ross as Stewardess Janet Reardon * Lori Hallier as Stewardess Kelly Mason * Kate Trotter as Widow * Brett Porter as Hutchings * Maria Syrgiannis as Karen Ives * Kirk Dunn as Flight Controller Dawson * Peter Van Wart as Frank Greene

Production

''Free Fall'' was filmed by Falling Productions Inc on locations in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, at

Toronto Pearson International Airport Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surr ...

’s old Terminal 1 and in

Uxbridge, Ontario Uxbridge is a township in the Regional Municipality of Durham in south-central Ontario, Canada. Communities The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge. Other settlements within the township include Altona, Coppin' ...

. The use of stock footage of airliners is evident. The crash scenes including the first crash is edited from '' Fearless'' (1993), while scenes from ''

Miracle Landing ''Miracle Landing'' (also known as ''Panic in the Open Sky'') is a 1990 American made-for-television drama film based on an in-flight accident aboard Aloha Airlines Flight 243 that occurred in April 1988. The Boeing 737-200 was flying from Hilo, ...

'' (1990) are also used. The primary aircraft flown by "Trans Regional Airlines" is an

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the famil ...

, although the shots of cockpits and interiors are from other aircraft. Other aircraft that are seen include a

Learjet 35 The Learjet Model 35 and Model 36 are a series of American multi-role business jets and military transport aircraft manufactured by Learjet. When used by the United States Air Force they carry the designation C-21A. The aircraft are powered by ...

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton Factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the Boeing 707, 7 ...

and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar.Ortega. Sergio
"Free Fall (Movie review)."
''airodyssey.net'', August 6, 2005. Retrieved: September 28, 2014. The film was distributed by

Fox Family Channel The American cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and six different name changes) during its h ...

and first released in the US on January 17, 1999, with 1999 releases in Italy as ''Freefall - Panico ad alta quota'' and in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

as ''Angst über den Wolken''."Angst über den Wolken" (in German)"
''Zelluloid (zelluloid.de)''. Retrieved: July 17, 2010. The film had its video premiere in Spain in 2000, followed by video releases in France as ''Crashs en série'', Germany as ''Freefall: Todesflug 1301'',"Freefall - Todesflug 1301" (in German).
''New-Video (new-video.de)''. Retrieved: July 17, 2010. Japan, and New Zealand. It had its television premiere in Sweden on February 19, 2007.

Reception

''Free Fall'' was considered a typical "

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

" production, and received decidedly mixed reviews. Film reviewer Hal Erickson simply called the film, "Made for cable."Erickson, Hal
"Free Fall".
''AMG AllMovie Guide''. Retrieved: September 28, 2014. Film reviewer Sergio Ortego said ''Free Fall'' "deserves no more than 3 out of 10." He further commented: "This film was indeed very poorly made ... a complete flop, with ridiculous special effects, bad acting, terrible one-liner dialogs, and nearly impossible plotlines, or shall I say, plotholes."

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Oster, Clinton V., C. Kurt Zorn and John S. Strong. ''Why Airplanes Crash: Aviation Safety in a Changing World''. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1995. .

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, freefall_2012 1999 films 1999 action films American crime action films American aviation films Canadian crime action films Canadian aviation films English-language Canadian films English-language German films Films directed by Mario Philip Azzopardi 1990s English-language films 1990s American films 1990s Canadian films