Disaster has struck; the first attempt at a fully automated plane flight (the plane is named Genisys) has ended in a most sour manner. Nearly the moment the plane was in the air, the systems malfunctioned. The end result was an entire project down the crapper and the death of two pilots. Not only that, but the guy who designed the whole thing, Gabriel Wingfield (John Pyper-Ferguson), instantly became the one upon whom to lay the blame. He is fired, threatened with massive legal action, and left with no future. He's not happy about it either.

Not too surprisingly, there is a Genisys II less than six months later. It's a big airliner that is, again, totally controlled by computer. It flies itself; it simply doesn't need pilots. A show-off, press-friendly, maiden voyage is scheduled from Seattle to Los Angels and the company bigwigs will be on board. In addition to the major corporate presence there will be some other incidental players and Captain Reece Robbins (Rachel Hayward). There is a character floating around in the sub-plots that goes by the name of Peter Bird Dog (Craig Sheffer) Dewmont, it looks like he and Captain Reece have shared some turbulent (har-har) times together in the past; they were once married. These days, Bird Dog has degenerated into a go-nowhere-ex-pilot-loser-drunkard that has lost his license, hasn't flown for two years, and now hopes to start a "discount-discount" charter service. He shows up back in his ex's life, for the first time in a long time, during a press conference that the company she works for is giving to promote the coming flight. He assaults her with an aggressive question and the conference is cut short. When he shows up at her home later with flowers and an apology, she responds by calling him an asshole. They talk for about a minute and then start vigorously slappin' their happy parts together. Must be his overpowering Charisma or something.

While all of this soap opera flimflam meanders unmercifully on (and on - and on - and on), Wingfield has been working very hard behind the scenes. Hacking his way here, hacking his way there, and still finding time to dispose of a nosy DSL installation guy; the man has plans. With loud rock music blaring in the background and in his most squeaky, Aussie-accented voice, he screams things at the computer like "cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!" Then he starts barking at the screen. Now, we get to see the big black spider he has in his apartment (it's not the first time...and it won't be the last either) sitting in it's web. Subtle - Look, look at me! I'm a big, symbolic metaphor! Over here! I'm a huge, ominous metaphor. Look! Yes, fine, we get it.

The flight gets underway the same day that Bird Dog is setting up his office for Sun and Sand charters. (It's also the same day he goes out of business.) The senator is on board, as is Ty Corbett (Winston Rekert), the head of the company behind the technology. Their kids are married to each other and the wife is expecting a baby soon. Captain Robbins is in the driver's seat and all seems well, but only for a brief moment. Wingfield is ready for revenge now. Instead of Los Angels he uses his computers to reroute them to "nowhere... fast." He takes control and everybody gets nervous. He almost causes a mid-air collision and everybody is scared shitless. For some reason that I still don't fully comprehend, the head of security calls up Peter and suggests that he get over to where they are the moment things start going bad. They were old friends and I suppose that it was really the only way to keep Sheffer's character actively in the plot. Anyway, Wingfield finally identifies himself to everyone and demands twenty million dollars in cash; it's supposed to be a partial compensation for everything he lost because of the incident at the beginning of the film. He gives them an hour to come up with the money. There's no time for fooling around either. The plane only has about two hours worth of fuel left.

If your looking for something that'll be on par with the classic disaster movies of the seventies then you'll need to keep searching. Director Alan Simmonds has given us a very flat film; you just don't give a damn about any of the characters. At best, you can sympathize with Reece Robbins due to Hayward's above average performance. Wingfield's upstairs neighbor has a daughter that takes a liking to him and he seems to like her also. When this relationship first develops there is an uncomfortable tension to it. You know this guy is completely insane and capable of nearly anything so you start to worry for the girl and can't help but wonder what will happen. As it turns out, she simply reminds him of the family he doesn't have anymore so he sort of latches on to her because of how much he misses his own daughter. The acting is all pretty much of a mid-day TV caliber (with the exception being Hayward). The whole bit with the spider is silly and the way that it's used to help reach the climax is absurd. There is no violence that would pass the PG-13 level and the one R-Rated sex scene seems almost out of place. Francoise Yip shows up in a throwaway role. The one-dimensional personalities, the lapses in logic, the absence of suspense... It all adds up to a very forgettable movie.

The DVD used for the review was a screener so all of the following details are subject to change. The anamorphic transfer is very attractive. The colors are all deep and vibrant; it's a nice, nearly flawless, visual presentation. The Dolby Digital Surround track is clean but not especially impressive. There are two trailers on the disc: one for Hijack'd, and one for Superfire. The latter is a 210-minute flick about? You guessed it! An out of control fire raging through the wilderness. Both features seem to have been made for TV.