Gerard Butler's Most Underrated Action Movie Is Climbing Netflix's Top Charts

Gerard Butler is the undisputed king of modern trash cinema, and that is a moniker he should feel proud of. Too many contemporary mainstream action movies are toothless and bland, but Butler's flicks have a little bit of dirt and blood in their nails, which is why he's a go-to actor for fans of big-budget exploitation fare. Whether he's chain-smoking and eating donuts in "Den of Thieves" or shooting terrorists in the "Has Fallen" franchise, Big Gerry's character's are reminiscent of the burly, everyman, macho heroes of yesteryear — and he plays them all with a cheeky twinkle in his eye.

This brings us to "Plane," the Jean-François Richet-directed '90s throwback that's currently flying high in Netflix's top 10, according to FlixPatrol. In this underrated gem, Butler plays Brodie Torrance, a pilot who must protect his passengers from ruthless rebels after their aircraft lands on a dangerous island in the middle of nowhere. Most of the passengers are helpless and far from equipped to fight, so Brodie has to team up with Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter), a soldier who everyone suspects is a homicidal maniac, to save the day. Cue the carnage.

"Plane" is a simple, no-holds-barred thrill ride that sits comfortably alongside the violent flicks that have turned Butler into royalty among genre buffs. What's more, it allowed him to play a character he found interesting due to the fact Brodie isn't a clean-cut, goody-two-shoes.

Brodie Torrance isn't the perfect man in "Plane." For a start, the pilot has been assigned the most unglamorous routes as a punishment from his higher-ups, who weren't happy about him beating up a passenger back in the day. He also has a strained relationship with his daughter, but he still tries his best to be a good father, gosh darn it. Still, Brodie's flaws are what attracted Gerard Butler to the role, as he explained in an interview with Uproxx.

"He's not perfect. He has to make some judgment calls. His passions get the most of them sometimes. But, yeah, I feel like what I love about these movies is the audience can climb into that. He's not a superhero. Because in that way, it's still a fun hero, but you're not a superhero."

Now that more people are discovering the movie thanks to Netflix, some viewers will be pleased to know that "Ship," a sequel to "Plane," is currently in the works. This one will chronicle Louis Gaspare's adventures following the events of the first movie, with the soldier tasked with putting a stop to a human trafficking ring on a boat. As of this writing, it remains to be seen if Brodie will join him for another shoot-'em-up adventure. In the meantime, you can read our "Plane" interview with Butler and Colter right here.