Turbulence (1997)

17% of critics liked it
(18 reviews)
23% of users liked it
(2,616 ratings)

Airplane travel is a precarious thing at best, and despite the billions of miles traveled safely, the notion of being trapped in a thin metal shell miles above the ground with someone who deliberately imperils lives never fails to chill. In this thriller, serial killer Ryan Weaver (Ray Liotta) gets… More Airplane travel is a precarious thing at best, and despite the billions of miles traveled safely, the notion of being trapped in a thin metal shell miles above the ground with someone who deliberately imperils lives never fails to chill. In this thriller, serial killer Ryan Weaver (Ray Liotta) gets loose in the plane which is taking him to prison. Suicidal, he manages to kill or incapacitate the pilot, copilot and navigator, only to have his death wish thwarted by the brave actions of flight attendant Teri Halloran (Lauren Holly). Teri manages to keep the plane in the air and more or less on course with groundside help from air traffic controller Sam Bowen (Ben Cross). Teri is Weaver's favorite type of victim and he has made her believe that he may be innocent. Will she be able to resist the killer's sinister charm and save the plane? ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Robert Butler
Written By: Steven E. de Souza, John Herzfeld, Jonathan Brett
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Action & Adventure

In Theaters: Jan 10, 1997 Wide
On DVD: Dec 24, 1997
Studio: HBO Video

Critic Reviews

Susan Wloszczyna, USA Today
Fasten your seat belts, folks. It's going to be a cliche-cluttered ride.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
About the best thing that can be said about Turbulence is that you're unlikely to encounter it as an in-flight movie.
Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum
Lame, lousy, horrid. No wonder Jim divorced Lauren.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Tsubaki S

Bad in the most amusing way possible. Ray Liotta turns the ham factor up to 11 and then some more with his craptastic performance. He's in full Nic Cage mode here.
Lee ?

One of the best plane-thrillers out there. It's worth watching for Ray Liotta's enjoyably maniacal performance alone. Lots of nail-biting and edge-of-your-seat moments from catagory-6 storms, dead pilots and Liotta terrorizing Lauren Holly all over the plane. Very… More
One of the best plane-thrillers out there. It's worth watching for Ray Liotta's enjoyably maniacal performance alone. Lots of nail-biting and edge-of-your-seat moments from catagory-6 storms, dead pilots and Liotta terrorizing Lauren Holly all over the plane. Very entertaining stuff!
jay n

A vile piece of junk.
Anthony L

One of the worst films ever! Watch the editing at the end. One minute Lauren Holly is flying the plane, the next she is locked out of the cockpit and being strangled, and then flying the plane again! Its sooo fucking bad. Robert Butler and John Duffy , you are both a disgrace to your… More
One of the worst films ever! Watch the editing at the end. One minute Lauren Holly is flying the plane, the next she is locked out of the cockpit and being strangled, and then flying the plane again! Its sooo fucking bad. Robert Butler and John Duffy , you are both a disgrace to your professions!
Dean M

Ray Liotta riffs wickedly on the cunning psycho groove he developed in <i>Unlawful Entry</i> in this good thriller film. Holly does a respectable job as the heroine. The airplane, the set design, and the special effects steal the show.
Dean !

This is a fairly good action film with a lot of recognizable faces in it. Not the greatest plot but plenty of action. Not heard of it before but passable for a nights viewing.
Andreia C

Bad, bad movie! Just horrible! The worst plane-thriller movie I've ever seen! I don't know why I even watched it, guess I just wanted to see the level of stupidity. The script is ridiculous, Ray Liotta horrible and Lauren Holly, god I just wanted her character to die… More
Bad, bad movie! Just horrible! The worst plane-thriller movie I've ever seen! I don't know why I even watched it, guess I just wanted to see the level of stupidity. The script is ridiculous, Ray Liotta horrible and Lauren Holly, god I just wanted her character to die already. It's so, so stupid, "yey there is a serial killer outside the cockpit, let's get out to see if he wants to kill me too!! :D" "oh, you can't catch me, yey I'm back in the cockpit and the plain is still in the air even though there was no one flying it and we just passed a level 6 storm and the plane made a 360º turn, yey" -_- Don't watch it, really -_- I can't even believe they made two sequels of this, god -_-
Lea L

Ray Liotta is great in this..
Barry L

Not too bad really