Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Ray Liotta, Lauren Holly, Brendan Gleeson, Hector Elizondo, Ben Cross ... see more see more... , Rachel Ticotin , Jeffrey DeMunn , John Finn , Catherine Hicks

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... read more read more... 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

Flixster Users

23% liked it

2,609 ratings

Critics

17% liked it

18 critics

R, 1 hr. 40 min.

Directed by: Robert Butler

Release Date: January 10, 1997

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: December 24, 1997

Stats: 146 reviews

Your Rating



clear rating

Flixster Reviews (146)


  • December 21, 2011
    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.
  • February 1, 2011
    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 st... read moreuff!
  • April 17, 2010
    A vile piece of junk.
  • September 28, 2009
    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 ... read moreyour professions!
  • July 23, 2009
    Ray Liotta riffs wickedly on the cunning psycho groove he developed in Unlawful Entry 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.
  • March 2, 2008
    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.
  • January 8, 2012
    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'... read mores 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 -_-
  • February 1, 2009
    Ray Liotta is great in this..
  • July 29, 2007
    Not too bad really
  • June 28, 2007
    Proof that Lauren Holly isn't good enough of an actress to carry a movie, especially a trainwreck like this.

Critic Reviews


Susan Wloszczyna
August 1, 2001
Susan Wloszczyna, USA Today

Fasten your seat belts, folks. It's going to be a cliche-cluttered ride.

Philip Martin
December 8, 2002
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. Full Review

Alex Sandell
November 22, 2002
Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum

Lame, lousy, horrid. No wonder Jim divorced Lauren.

Scott Weinberg
January 1, 2000
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

Howlingly awful Die Hard retread. Full Review

Leonard Klady
March 26, 2009
Leonard Klady, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Stephen Holden
May 20, 2003
Stephen Holden, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Kevin McManus
January 22, 2002
Kevin McManus, Washington Post

Click to read the article Full Review

Mick LaSalle
August 1, 2001
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Click to read the article Full Review

August 1, 2001
Houston Chronicle

No review available.

Joe Baltake
August 1, 2001
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

Click to read the article Full Review

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)

More Like This


Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Con Air
    Con Air (100%)
  • Air Force One
    Air Force One (50%)
  • Passenger 57
    Passenger 57 (100%)
  • Executive Decision
    Executive Decision (100%)

Facts


No facts approved yet. Be the first

Turbulence : Watch Free on TV


Turbulence Trivia


  • In what 2005 movie would you hear the words: "This is the captain. We have a little problem with our entry sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and then - explode."  Answer »
  • In the movie Red Flight, what does Jackson Ripner (Cillian Murphy) choose from the flight attendant during turbulence?  Answer »
  • "This is the captain. We have a little problem with our entry sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and then - explode."  Answer »
  • The movie Snakes on a Plane starring Samuel L. Jackson was inspired on a true event which occured in 1999. A flight destined for LAX was carrying a large amount of snakes, after severe turbulence some of the crates smashed and the snakes temporarily roamed the plane (nobody was injured in any way).  Answer »

Movie Quizzes


No quizzes for Turbulence. Want to create one?

Video Clips


No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Recent News


No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists


Most Popular Skin


No skins yet. Interested in creating one?