On a Wing and a Prayer movie review

In Dennis Quaid’s recent string of inspirational films, we’re introduced to a new one with Amazon Prime’s On a Wing and a Prayer from director Sean McNamara, best known for another tug at your heartstrings biographical drama, Soul Surfer.

On a Wing and a Prayer tells the story of Doug White (played by Quaid) and his family and how they survived the most frightening flight they’ve had to endure. After the pilot of the private plane they’ve chartered dies during flight, Doug must gather his wits to land the plane safely, even more so with his wife and two daughters with him.

Based on a true story, the events alone make for a compelling suspense survival drama without compromising the film’s intention to inspire. So it’s baffling why the filmmakers decide to add heaps of storytelling devices through unnecessary characters and made-up events – because more is better? Overdoing anything is never a good thing. Sadly, this point was overlooked when the writers opted for the ‘ultimate drama package’. 

We get that biographical films aren’t 100% accurate most of the time. Take Cinderella Man, for instance. The movie may have portrayed James Braddock’s (played by Russell Crowe) career accurately, but it also tarnished his opponent Max Baer’s reputation by portraying him as a vicious nemesis who revels in the pain he’s inflicting. These exaggerations are commonplace in the world of filmmaking where storytelling still comes from a place of make-believe. But like with everything else, there’s a line that needs not crossing so that whatever it is you’re making doesn’t end up being outright silly. 

Back to the film, Quaid’s character Doug White is instantaneously branded as a bad pilot in the beginning, not doing so well in his flight lessons. Someone watching from the ground shakes his head, as if cringing at the thought that this man is interested in learning how to fly planes. But Doug is going to prove in the latter part of the movie that despite his lack of skills and experience, he will safely land the aircraft he has no business flying on his own because his family’s life depends on it.

When the unthinkable happens, their pilot suddenly dying, Doug and his wife Terri (played by Heather Graham) scramble to fly the plane and keep themselves and their daughters calm and positive, all the while getting instructions from air traffic controllers and a flight instructor. 

Amidst the ruckus, their daughter Bailey (Abigail Rhyne) has an allergic reaction to peanuts during the flight, leaving their other daughter Maggie (Jessi Case) embarking on her own fight or flight moment to retrieve Bailey’s EpiPen, which also got stuck in the luggage area. This didn’t happen. 

It doesn’t stop there. There’s also a storm coming and the plane that Doug and his family are on is going to have to fly into it. After all, why not? They’ve already gone through the horror of seeing the pilot die in front of them, and then realising that they may also not make it because no one in the family really knows how to fly a plane, save for the dad’s earlier flight lessons, so why not throw a storm into the mix and see what happens? Once again, fictional. 

Another unnecessary storytelling device is a young girl named Donna (Raina Grey), who listens to live air traffic controller transmissions online. Of course, she comes across Doug and his family’s current situation, alongside her friend Buggy (Trayce Malachi). These characters are fictitious and are used as sort of narration fillers, bombarding our screens with flight jargon and all sorts of explanations. It’s nice the filmmakers thought viewers need assistance in understanding the movie as it happens (might be required when watching Tenet), but it’s outright pointless in this case.

With so many clichés added to enhance the story’s dramatic appeal, On a Wing and a Prayer fails at being an uplifting story of faith and survival. Instead, they took away the compelling rawness of the White family’s ordeal and turned it into a pre-packaged product made of obvious dramatic pivots as key ingredients.  

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