If you'd like to be surprised by the Chariot film, I don't recommend you to watch the trailer beyond 0:38, because it gives away too much of the plot. It basically provides a summary of the film, up to the ending scene, it's only the very end we are not shown. Also, it makes it look like it's some kind of action movie.
Chariot, movie (2013) - Watch the trailer on YouTube
Watch the trailer for The Ultimate Edition
video © Mancat Films
Article updated: 2023.11.09
The Chariot (2013) is a thriller film. The movie was reviewed by Kadmon.
Product: Chariot, movie (2013)
Original title: Chariot, UK: The Final Flight
Series: -
Setting: contemporary Earth
Product type: Film, Genre: thriller, Style: thriller, nuclear war
Release: Premiere: 2013.07.15 (Dallas, Texas), DVD release: 2013.11.19
Reviewer: Kadmon, Type: Male, 40s, Preferences: Immersive, logical story, consistent setting, prefers surprises to spoilers, prefers establishing elements before referencing them
Watched: very recent (2021.12), first time
Rating: Weak (2- out of 3 points), Enjoyment: Weak (2- out of 3 points)
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This is my review of Chariot, a thriller movie from 2013. It's about people finding themselves on a plane in the air, with no memory how they got there. The Chariot film is boring and doesn't make sense, so I don't recommend it to anyone.
Chariot, movie (2013)
image © Mancat Films
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Review (spoiler-free) - Chariot, movie (2013)
After I've watched Oxygène / Oxygen (2021) and Méandre / Meander (2020), I've been recommended Chariot, as it bears a slightly similar plot. I didn't read more about the movie, nor did I watch the trailer. In hindsight, I probably should have done these.
There's also a director's cut version of the movie, I'm not sure which version did I watch.
The Chariot movie is about people finding themselves on a plane in the air, with no memory how they got there.
The premise of the story might be good, but the execution was stupid. The pacing is consistently slow and boring. The improvement of characters just happen, without proper character arcs. There are plenty of logical problems, making the story painful to watch.
The cinematography is not high quality, some shots are out of focus. The movie is not interesting visually, and the creators didn't even try. (For contrast, check Altitude (2010), they made the same premise look somewhat interesting.) The movie is intentionally desaturated, to make it look more dull. The movie was made for wide-screen, so you'll see those black borders above and below the movie. Most of the shots are close-ups, even if a wider shot were more effective.
The basics of the characters are okay. They even get some development, but we still don't really get to know them. They are portrayed by the actors fine, they are mostly believable.
The music (by John Roome) is not noticable.
Chariot is a watchable but not interesting thriller, that I don't think anyone would really enjoy.
My experience
I was not satisfied with Chariot (2013). I was bored for most of the time.
Rating: Weak (2- out of 3 points). Chariot is slow and didn't make much sense.
Enjoyment: Weak (2- out of 3 points). Chariot was boring but watchable.
Rewatchability: I don't think so. I'm pretty sure no one would ever want to endure this movie twice.
Chance of watching it again: No.
Chance of watching a sequel: Unlikely. I'd sure read reviews about it before giving it a try.
Chariot, movie (2013)
image © Mancat Films
Will you enjoy this?
If you like mystery or thriller movies, you might like Chariot.
If you like action thriller movies (Air Force One), you might like the film, although there are not many action scenes in the Chariot movie.
If you can get through the first half hour of the movie still interested, it won't be much worse for the rest of the movie.
If you enjoyed the Airport series, it's something like that, so you might be interested in this story, but be prepared for the low budget.
If you don't mind illogical elements in your movies, you can enjoy this.
If you like twists, you might enjoy this movie.
If you prefer visuals over story, you'll be bored to death by Chariot.
Watching for plot points
Even if you are interested in thriller stories, I think you'll better read the plot summary than watch the Chariot movie for the plot points.
Should you watch this on your own screen at home, or is it worth going to the cinema?
You'll probably get a very similar experience, especially as the movie looks bad even on a small screen.
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Chariot, movie (2013)
image © Mancat Films
Review with spoilers - Chariot, movie (2013)
I didn't like the Chariot movie, it was a disappointment.
After 30 minutes I started to get bored. Neither the characters nor the story is interesting.
Cover
The cover of the movie is okay, it doesn't say much, but it doesn't spoil the movie.
The trailer
The trailer is basically a substitute for watching the movie. Also, it makes it look like it's some kind of action movie.
If you prefer spoilers, it's a great trailer for the Chariot film. If you prefer to avoid spoilers, it will ruin the movie for you.
Promise of the first scene
A couple of people wake up on a plane with no memory how they got there. I assume we'll get to know the details of how they got on the plane, and why did that happen. Otherwise, I have no clue where will they take this.
Execution: We got to know how they got there, and what happened. The rest of the story had some twists to suprise me.
Plot summary / Synopsis
A couple of people wake up on a plane in the air. There's a truck driver (Anthony Montgomery as Cole), an IT guy (Ian Sinclair as Aden), an anthropologist (Brina Palencia as Emily), a government lady (Michelle Sherrill as Genevieve), a housewife (Leslie Steele as Belinda), a government secretary (Joe Nemmers as Michael), and a linguist (David DeLao as Ra). None of them knows how they got there, and they can't reach the pilots in the closed cockpit. They only remember that they were about to do some regular thing, and then they woke up here. The linguist panics, so he gets knocked out. They don't have their cell phones. They don't find anything in common that would put them in the same group. The secretary recognises the plane (Boeing 727), and it's a type that's been decommissioned. It's probably the one that was stolen years ago.
They find a cellphone, that has a video about a news report, that says that the USA was attacked, and the Eastern Seaboard is gone. The government lady calls someone, but the call is interrupted. They get a phone call from the government, and they tell them that the plane was supposed to evacuate important people in case of emergency, and some of them (the truck driver and the housewife) are not on the list. The plane flies high above the clouds, so shockwaves from nuclear blasts couldn't reach it. The man asks them to reach the pilots, and tell them that they can't land on the original destination, as that's already gone. However, the pilots are ordered to kill anyone who tries to get into the cockpit.
As they search the plane, they find a dead body. The "housewife" pulls a gun, and tells them that the dead guy was her partner, who wanted to force her off the plane, and that she won't allow them to try to reach the cockpit. The government lady recognises that the woman is an operative, who was supposed to bring the people on the plane, then leave, but it looks like she refused to leave. They disarm her and tie her up.
They decide to act like terrorists, hoping that the pilots will finally open the cockpit door. They agree to shoot the pilots if they have to. When they put a fake bomb near the door, the pilots indeed open the door, and start shooting. During the shoot-out, both pilots are shot, one of them dies, and they kill government secretary, and the female operative. Luckily, the surviving pilot (J. Taylor as Moss) is quick to accept the situation, and take them under the clouds, so they can take a look. It seems like everything is normal down there.
The government lady reveals that this was just the test of the evacuation program, as they will need to get ready for every possibility. They will all get compensated for this. However, because the passengers got into the cockpit, the government considers the project a failure, so they decide to shoot the plane out of the sky. A radio starts up in the cockpit, telling terrorist threats in Arabic. The pilot dies.
The truck driver decides to try to put the plane down. The government lady tells him, that she put him on the list because he saved his son years ago. They try to land, when the movie suddenly ends. They either crash landed, killing them, or they were shot by the fighter planes sent after them, it's not entirely clear.
The setting
The story is set on contemporary Earth.
There's a project that plans to evacuate important people in case a nuclear attack would happen.
Chariot, movie (2013)
image © Mancat Films
Operation Chariot
Intended to be executed when an attack is imminent.
There are pairs of operatives, who get to the location of the target person, drug everybody with a drug that induced short time memory loss, and makes them asleep. Then haul the sleeping target person to the intended plane, and leave them there. (As we see, the operatives leaving the plane is a weak point, as they know that they are likely to die if they leave the plane. It would be more efficient if the operatives didn't know the exact reason why they need to snatch those people.)
When the people wake up on the plane, there's no debriefing, leaving them all wondering what has happened. There's no flight crew to help them out, to calm them, or hand them food or drinks. This is the right way for a disaster.
The cockpit is closed, and the pilots have strict orders not to accept any new commands, and they shouldn't let anyone in the cockpit. The last part is okay, but especially in a volatile situation like an attack, there should be some way to give them new orders, for example, if their original destination is also under attack.
The message of the story
I'm not sure there's one. "Don't trust the government"? (Update: As the creators said: "It's a cautionary tale of what can happen when the good intentions of the government are poorly executed.")
The structure of the story
The scenes of the Chariot film are played in sequence, following the same storyline.
There's no single viewpoint character, although Cole is close to be just that.
It has the usual arc of the dramatic structure - introduction, action, and a kind of resolution, with an abrupt ending.
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Things I liked
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How does it compare to the other works of the creators?
As far as I know, this is the only feature film of the writer (Eric Vale).
I haven't seen any other works of the director (Brad Osborne).
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Chariot, movie (2013)
image © Mancat Films
Analysis of the story - Chariot, movie (2013)
I mostly liked the basics of the story, but then the actual execution was full of problems that prevented me from enjoying Chariot.
Problematic elements
Waking up people: Is it really more effective to use the speakers to wake the people up, instead of going to each of them, and poke them slightly? There was about 3 or 4 people still asleep.
The order for the pilots: The guy on the phone says that the pilots were instructed not to accept any calls. This sounds stupid, but even the government people seem to accept it as a fact. For exactly the reasons they need to contact them, they are allowed to be contacted, so they can take new orders.
Long shots of nothing: The movie really needs a more heavy handed cut.
Shooting the pilots: They agree to shoot the pilots. Who do they think will fly the plane? None of them have any experience.
The whole thing makes no sense: These are smalls things but they add up to make the whole thing unbelievable. Unless the organiser intended the whole thing to fail, of course.
- The government lady: She should have known that the "housewife" is not on the list. She was able to communicate with the organisers.
- Insider knowledge: When you do a test, you shouldn't put anyone there with insider knowledge, as it can influence the test results. The government lady shouldn't have been on the plane.
- Talking openly on the phone: Why didn't the government lady use the toilet, or gone to a place where she won't be heard by anybody?
- The list: As we learn in the end, the list did include Cole, that's why he was brought there. The organiser shouldn't have denied that.
- Getting to the cockpit: If they didn't want the passengers to break into the cockpit, the organiser shouldn't have commanded them to do so. Otherwise, they would have just been waiting until they arrived.
- Poisoning the targets: I'm pretty sure it's a bad idea to take people out using drugs. First, it's very hard to calculate the right dose. Second, it's harder to bring them to the intended location. If government agents call for their presence, I assume most law-abiding citizen would follow them to do their part.
- Guns: Why did they give guns to anybody? They should have just taken the guns of the agents before they were sent to get their targets. They didn't need the guns to get them.
- Gun ammunition: If they really had to bring guns, they could have used rubber bullets, or something less lethal, as this was intended to be a test. "Collateral damage" should have been avoided.
- Shooting the pilots: It was the government lady who shot the pilots, thus making her own project a failure. She should have done it a little less convincingly, allowing the pilots to live.
Unanswered questions
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Possibilities of improvement
- There are many unneccessary shots that don't build characters or add anything to the plot. Those could be cut.
- Although I'm not sure if it could have been cut in a way that would make it more logical.
- Add exterior shots of the plane, to add variety to the scenes. (Update: They did this for the The Ultimate Edition version.)(Update 2: I've read it that the lack of exterior shots was a concept from the creators' so that we couldn't see beyond the things that the viewpoint characters are able to see. I can fully get behind this, as this enhances the mystery, and even adds the possibility of the plane being on ground, with a simulated background projected around them. However, something still needs to be done to add variety to the scenes. Coloured lights to the specific parts of the plane, maybe? More extravagant clothes to the passengers?)
How it could have been better?
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Behind the scenes
The creators got the idea about the plane when they've read about a stolen airliner. According to the advertisement of the Ultimate Edition, they try to build on the "based on real events" idea.
Thoughts about the reviews of others
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Chariot, movie (2013)
image © Mancat Films
Uses for the film - Chariot, movie (2013)
Plot
- There's a government plan to save important people in case of emergency.
- The government is testing one of their plans, without letting the people know it's just a test.
Scenes
Scenario ideas - Role-playing game scenario ideas
- The team is hired to get an important person to a plane, no matter what, then put that person on the plane, and leave. They can only take the target person, and no one else. There are hints that the whole place will get under attack, or a catastrophe is coming. If they don't get on the plane, they will probably die.
- Some refuse to leave, and defend themselves.
- Some request that they bring their relatives or friends.
- Some tries to escape from them.
Scenario ideas - Wargame scenario ideas
- Break-in: The attacker tries to reach an objective that is closed off. The defender sets up the playing area, including a fortified place, with a closed door. Deploy the defenders inside. The defenders are very few, but they have good weapons. The attackers are not skilled and have just a few weak weapons. However, they can hack through the door, if they get enough time. The defenders need to work on something, so at least one of them have to spend its activation on that work. Otherwise, on the next turn, one more model have to spend an activation to correct the error. This acts like a chain-reaction, and if more actions would be required than the defender has models, the defender has failed the game. The attackers win if they get in and defeat the defenders. The defenders win if they defeat the attackers. It's a draw if the attackers are defeated but the work of the defender is a failure.
- Catastrophic failure: Failure means there's going to be some major problem. The defenders have to evacuate from the area. At the beginning of every turn, roll a d6. On a 6, the fortified place blows up, hitting everybody still on the playing area at the end of the turn.
- The second round: Create the playing area together. Choose your forces. Then choose a unit, and roll where you'll deploy it on the playing area, and put a marker beside them. Then the next player chooses a unit, and deploys it. After all of the units have been deployed, the game begins. There was a previous battle, but the whole area was hit by an effect that made them unconscious. If you want to activate a unit, you have to roll a d6, on 1-3 they wake up, and you can remove the marker. On their first activation, they just spend the turn by getting up, and checking the area. Once they get activated without the marker, they can do anything. If an active unit meets a sleeping unit, they can spend an activation waking them up, by rolling a d6, and on 1-3 they are able to wake that unit.
Miniatures - 1/50-1/60 (28-32mm scale)
Civilians: Human-sized modern civilians.
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Similar stories - Chariot, movie (2013)
Novels
Arthur Hailey: Flight into Danger / Runway Zero Eight (1958): There's some problem with the airplane (food poisoning), and the passangers and pilots must work together to land the plane. Based on Flight into Danger (1956).
Movies
Airplane! (1980): There's some problem with the airplane (food poisoning), and the passangers and pilots must work together to land the plane. It's a comedy, based on Flight into Danger (1956).
Airport series (1970, 1974, 1977, 1979): There's some problem with the airplane, and the passangers and pilots must work together to land the plane.
Flight into Danger (1956): There's some problem with the airplane (food poisoning), and the passangers and pilots must work together to land the plane.
Terror in the Sky (1971): There's some problem with the airplane (food poisoning), and the passangers and pilots must work together to land the plane. Based on Flight into Danger (1956).
Zero Hour! (1957): There's some problem with the airplane (food poisoning), and the passangers and pilots must work together to land the plane. Based on Flight into Danger (1956).
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Frequently asked questions - Chariot, movie (2013)
Is the Chariot film based on a true story?
Chariot is partially based on a true story. The Boeing 727-223 plane (registered N844AA), depicted in the movie, left the Quatro de Fevereiro Airport in Luanda, Angola without clearence in 2003.05.25. It disappeared towards the Atlantic Ocean, and there's no further information about its whereabouts.
Is the Chariot film based on a book or comics?
No, Chariot is not based on either books or comics.
Is the Chariot film a remake or reboot?
No, the Chariot film is neither a remake nor a reboot.
Is there a post credit scene in Chariot? Does Chariot have end credit scenes?
No, there's no post credit scene in Chariot.
Where can I see Chariot? Where can I watch Chariot online? Is Chariot available on Netflix? Is Chariot on Amazon?
As of 2021.12.01, Chariot is on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube.
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Resources - Chariot, movie (2013)
Official
Chariot (on Archive.org): Official website. (2020: Taken over)
IndieGoGo: Chariot: The original crowdfunding page.
Information
IMDB: Chariot (2013): Database article.
Letterboxd: Chariot 2013: Database article.
Rotten Tomatoes: Chariot 2013: Database article.
TVTropes: Film / Chariot: Database article.
Creation
Brad Osborne: Excerpt from "CHARIOT: Making A Dream Fly": Behind the scenes video.Ł
Reviews with no spoilers - Chariot film (2013)
Pluymers Peter (for Movie-freak.be): Chariot (2013): Review video about the Chariot film with no spoilers.Ł/§
The Ringmaster's Realm: Chariot (2013): Review video about the Chariot film with no spoilers.
Reviews with spoilers - Chariot film (2013)
: Review article of the Chariot movie, with spoilers. Includes a very detailed plot summary.¤
Analysis - Chariot movie (2013)
: Analysis video, explaining the finale of Chariot.¤
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Buying the product - Chariot, movie (2013)
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Have you seen the Chariot film? How do you like the movie? Would you recommend it to others? Do you know reviews or resources you'd like to add? What further thoughts do you have about it? Tell your opinion in the comments!
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