Free Fall (film)

Free Fall is a 1999 American/Canadian made-for-television action / drama film directed by Mario Azzopardi with a screenplay by Ken Wheat and Jim Wheat based upon a story by Mark Homer.

Background and release
Filmed by Falling Productions Inc on locations in Toronto, Ontario and Uxbridge, Ontario, the film was distributed by Fox Family Channel and first released in the US on January 17, 1999, with 1999 releases in Italy as Freefall - Panico ad alta quota and in Germany as Angst über den Wolken. The film had its video premiere in Spain in 2000, followed by video releases in France (as Crashs en série), Germamy as Freefall - Todesflug 1301, Japan, and New Zealand. It had its television premiere in Sweden on February 19, 2007.

Plot
After 'Trans Regional Airlines' is hit by a series of mysterious plane crashes, National Transportation Safety Board safety expert Renee Brennan (Jaclyn Smith) calls for grounding of the airline's panes, but is thwarted by Mark Ettinger (Bruce Boxleitner), who repeatedly countermands her orders for grounding the planes. After Mark is himself killed in a crash, Brennan and FBI agent Scott Wallace (Scott Wentworth) track doen the sabateur, Michael Ives (Hannes Jaenicke), a former pilot seeking revenge against the airline, but are themselves caught in a trap he set for them at 33,000 feet.

Partial cast

 * Hannes Jaenicke as Michael Ives
 * Jaclyn Smith as Renee Brennan
 * Bruce Boxleitner as Mark Ettinger
 * Scott Wentworth as Scott Wallace
 * Hayden Christensen as Patrick Brennan
 * Nigel Bennett as Donald Caldwell
 * Chad Everett as Richard Pierce


 * Brett Halsey as Chief of Security Tom Mason
 * Tanja Reichert as Stewardess Holly Nesbitt
 * Robyn Stevan as Polly James
 * Anne Ross as Stewardess Janet Reardon
 * Philip Craig as Captain Markham
 * Rod Wilson as Captain Meyers
 * Paul Hubbard as Co-Pilot

Recognition
Sergio Ortega of AirOdyssey found the film to be mediocre and the storyline ridiculous, and offered that the film was poorly made. he granted that the initial crash scene showed promise but that the the film failed overall. He made special note when he pointed out "ridiculous special effects, bad acting, terrible one-liner dialogs, and nearly-impossible plotlines, or shall I say, plotholes. This viewer doesn't care about the chraracters, because the movie loses all its credibility as the story goes, and the series of crashes becomes tedious. It all looks the same, even if for once, I can say that I have rarely seen extras look this frightened.