I loved the first movie which remains the best version, but the remake isn't
so bad. Lots of technical errors, but only a diehard prop fan would notice
them. The computer gen footage of the C 119 rolling as fast as a Blue Angel, doing
about mach .7, out of control in the sandstorm is certainly amusing. The
crash landing scene has the 119 alternately going really fast and really slow over
and over, not something that would likely happen skidding across the sands.
In one brief moment an engine close up shows rocker arms in motion, not
something you'd see on an intact 3350. Cartridge starters were never to my knowledge
used on 119s or on any 3350s for that matter, but it adds drama. Etc etc. But
the acting is OK, the special effects and photography are great, and the end is inspiring. The shots of a real C 119 taxying and taking off are excellent. The Phoenix, built from the C 119 wreckage, is pretty imaginative. The Phoenix flight sequences in the latest movie look fairly real but obviously are not. At least the first movie had a real flying Phoenix which added some realism.
Definitely entertaining. Similar in look and feel to Con Air, but Phoenix is a better movie. Your reviews?

I've seen the previews on television. I'll stay with the 1960's version. I agree regarding the cartridge starter although the type was also used in the original production.
I'm also pretty sure, since Jimmy Stewart was an airplane person, he kept an eye on correct procedures and equipment while filming was underway.

Doug

I'm afraid that my love for the Jimmy Stewart version is too great to allow me to enjoy the new one. Aside from all the technical flaws that 377 mentioned, the big problem with the remake is that it has degenerated into a shallow action film for 12-year-olds, instead of the gripping character study of the original.
One example of this is that although several of the characters died in the remake, I was hard pressed to even remember who they were, much less feel empathy for them. And as is the case with many newer films, most of the characters were simply unlikeable.
Give me Jimmy Stewart and Richard Attenborough and Peter Finch and Hardy Kruger and all the rest any day!

Doug Vernon brings up an interesting point, that Jimmy Stewart probably was more mindful of aviation procedures because of his pilot heritage. Yet Dennis Quaid is also a pilot. That made it especially irritating to see his poor performance in the movie!