10 Action Movies Like Plane You Must See

Directed by Jean-François Richet, ‘Plane’ stars Gerard Butler as ex-RAF-turned-commercial pilot Brodie Torrance, whose aircraft gets taken down by a lightning strike on a forested island in the Philippines. Though the plane lands in a controlled crash, the passengers are taken hostage by a group of armed rebels in the war-torn region. The situation forces Brodie to turn to fugitive homicide suspect Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter) for help, who was being transported to Canada on the same aircraft by the FBI.

Working together, they realise that there is more to the other than meets the eye. While the story is built around the plane crash, the lead characters spend a significant portion of the runtime off board, tearing through rebel bases to rescue the abducted passengers and get them to safety. In case the taut survival action thriller has you looking for more, here is a curated list of films similar to ‘Plane’ to satiate your cravings.

10. The 355 (2022)

‘The 355’ by Simon Kinberg revolves around an unlikely team of four women who put their differences aside to prevent a top-secret weapon from falling into the wrong hands. They include CIA agent Mason Brown (Jessica Chastain), German BND agent Marie Schmidt (Diane Kruger), former MI6 agent Khadijah Adiyeme (Lupita Nyong’o), and Colombian DNI agent and psychologist Graciela Rivera (Penélope Cruz). As they travel around the world to complete their objective, they are pursued by Chinese MSS agent Lin Mi Sheng (Bingbing Fan). The women learn to trust each other as in the face of collective danger, similar to Brodie and Louis in ‘Plane.’

9. Flightplan (2005)

Helmed by Robert Schwentke, ‘Flightplan’ follows aircraft engineer Kyle Pratt (Jodie Foster), who is travelling from Berlin to the US with her 6-year-old daughter Julia (Marlene Lawston) and the body of her recently deceased husband. She takes a nap mid-air, feeling secure in the plane of her own design, only to find Julia missing after she wakes up. More shockingly, a flight attendant tries to convince her that she has been unaccompanied since she boarded the flight. Kyle remains unconvinced and continues her frantic search, determined to find and protect her daughter. Her grit is mirrored in Brodie in ‘Plane,’ as he does whatever it takes to rescue the passengers of his aircraft who are abducted.

8. Captain Phillips (2013)

Based on Richard Phillips’ memoir ‘A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea,’ Paul Greengrass directed ‘Captain Phillips’ starring Tom Hanks in the titular role. It chronicles the events that took place in April 2009 when the US containership Maersk Alabama set sail along its regular course. Off the coast of the Horn of Africa, Somali pirates attack the vessel and take everyone hostage. As they demand millions in ransom, Phillips relies on his wit to ensure everyone onboard returns home safe and alive. The attack of the Somali pirates is reminiscent of the Philippine rebels abducting the aircraft passengers in ‘Plane.’ At the same time, Phillips plays the role of the protective leader that Brodie embodies in the latter film.

7. Extraction (2020)

‘Extraction’ marks the feature directorial debut of Sam Hargrave. Based on the graphic novel Ciudad by Ande Parks, Joe Russo, and Anthony Russo, the narrative centers around Ovi Mahajan (Rudhraksh Jaiswal), the son of a Mumbai gangster who gets kidnapped by his father’s rival. While the crime boss fails to come up with the ransom amount on account of being in prison and having his finances frozen, his syndicate hires Australian mercenary Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth)to rescue the teen. Much like Broodie in ‘Plane,’ Rake faces mortal danger in an unknown land to bring his charge to safety.

6. Non-Stop (2014)

‘Non-Stop’ by Jaume Collet-Serra stars Liam Neeson as Bill Marks, an alcoholic former NYPD officer-turned Air Marshal who finds his seemingly boring assignment escalate into a high-stakes crisis during a flight from NYC to London. Mark receives a series of messages from a killer hiding in plain sight inside the aircraft, who states a passenger will die every twenty minutes until the airline transfers $150 million into an offshore account. Bill races against time to ensure the safety of everyone in the aircraft, like the pilot in ‘Plane,’ as well as to discover the identity of the killer.

5. Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)

Jean-Francois Richet’s ‘Assault on Precinct 13’ tells the story of Detroit Police Department Sergeant Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke), an alcoholic haunted by his own past. He is forced to shelter a bus full of criminals, including crime boss Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne), when the nearby roads become impossible to navigate during a winter storm. Armed assailants soon attack the premises, forcing the police and criminals to team up to make sure they come out of the ordeal alive. The partnership between Jake and Marion mirrors that between Brodie and Louis in ‘Plane.’

4. Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

Directed by Antoine Fuqua, ‘Olympus Has Fallen’ shares an account of a guerrilla attack on the White House by highly trained terrorists, which results in the President and his staff being taken hostage. However, the situation provides an opportunity for redemption for disgraced Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler). He races to locate the President’s son before the terrorists, as well as rescue the commander-in-chief himself before the terrorists can execute their ultimate plan. The film is yet another example of Gerard Butler playing an action hero ready to protect and serve.

3. Kandahar (2023)

‘Kandahar,’ helmed by Ric Roman Waugh, follows undercover CIA operative Tom Harris, who achieves his objective of compromising the nuclear research facility in Iran but compromises his identity in the aftermath. Soon, he finds himself trapped in Afghanistan, with multiple nations on his tail. Accompanied by his translator, Tom takes on every obstacle in his path as he tries to reach the extraction point in Kandahar. Gerald Butler stars as Tom in the film, adding yet another feather in his cap of brooding armed forces personnel roles.

2. Alive (1993)

Based on Piers Paul Read’s book ‘Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors,’ the eponymous film by Frank Marshall chronicles the experience of Uruguay’s rugby team after a plane crash leaves them stranded in the Andes mountains. Every individual reacts differently amid the crisis. While the group leader, Nando (Ethan Hawke), tries to keep everyone’s spirits up, medical student Roberto (Josh Hamilton) treats cases of frostbite and gangrene. However, as the situation prolongs, the group faces increasingly horrific dilemmas. Many parallels can be drawn between ‘Alive’ and ‘Plane,’ with the events of both being set up by the unfortunate crash landing of an aircraft. The groups are left stranded in regions away from civilization, where survival is a dangerous affair.

1. The Grey (2012)

Joe Carnahan adapted the short story ‘Ghost Walker’ by Ian MacKenzie Jeffers for his feature film ‘The Grey,’ which stars Liam Neeson as a sharpshooter working for an Alaskan oil refinery. At the end of a five-week shift, John Ottway (Liam) is flying home with his co-workers when a brutal storm causes the aircraft to crash. Stranded in the icy wilderness, the men are forced to battle nature to make it out of the ordeal alive. The plot of the film shares many similarities with ‘Plane,’ from the vessel crashing because of weather conditions to the passengers getting stranded in the woods away from civilization. While the most prominent threat in the latter film comes from Philippine rebels, it is the wolves that seek to hunt the people in ‘The Grey.’