Stream It Or Skip It: ‘On a Wing and a Prayer’ on Amazon Prime Video, A Familiar Faith-Based Tale That Doesn’t Take Off

It’s a bird … it’s a plane … it’s a MIRACLE! God is the true Superman in the faith-based On a Wing and a Prayer, now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. This true-life tale of an improbable rescue in the skies is the kind of thing that makes for a viral Upworthy video. But is it cinematic?

ON A WING AND A PRAYER: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Novice pilot Doug White (Dennis Quaid) isn’t exactly feeling too charitable toward the big man upstairs after losing his brother, friend, and flight instructor Jeff (Brett Rice) to an unexpected heart attack. On Easter Sunday 2009, he steps into the cockpit with another pilot to help get his wife (Heather Graham) and daughters home. But when the flight’s main pilot dies suddenly, it’s up to him to fly the plane and get everyone safely on the ground. That becomes a particular challenge given that the air traffic controllers on duty have little to no experience with the aircraft he’s flying. With a little help from distant flyers both experienced (Jesse Metcalfe) and green (Raina Grey) – not to mention a little divine intervention, if you take the movie’s word for it – an unfathomable landing gets underway.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Sully, but if he were spiritual. (And in that department, think something like Miracles from Heaven, Heaven is for Real, or 90 Minutes in Heaven which always seem to sprout up like April flowers around Easter time.)

Performance Worth Watching: There’s a true standout child performance from Raina Grey, the defiant youngster determined to become a pilot because an adult once told her she couldn’t. Hopefully this leads to her booking some bigger roles in projects more deserving of her talents.

Memorable Dialogue: “Sometimes you have to believe in things you can’t see,” exhorts Jesse Metcalfe’s Kari Sorenson as he tries to convince Doug to trust his guidance from afar. It’s the line that dutifully ties together the spiritual and practical elements of the story.

Sex and Skin: Sex is present in the film insofar as a character making a suggestive remark at a barbecue and receiving a rebuke, “We got children around here!” The retort is a real down-home knee-slapper: “Well, how do you think they got here?”

Our Take: Christian entertainment doesn’t get much more color-by-numbers than this miraculous wish-fulfillment fantasy. Get this – the finale uses not only a dramatic recitation of the Lord’s Prayer but also an unplugged cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” Oof. The film starts by envisioning God like a distant relative they speak about affectionately in gatherings, then forgets Him entirely in the meat of the action, only to invoke His protection at the very brink of destruction. On a Wing and a Prayer is nothing more than shallow pandering that simplifies the complexities of faith for an audience it is afraid to challenge.

Our Call: SKIP IT. On a Wing and a Prayer has all the sophistication of a “God is my co-pilot” magnet. It’s a film glorifying someone who thinks they’ve made God their steering wheel when, instead, they’ve really just relied on God as a spare tire. While a halfway competent disaster film, it takes a nosedive when shoehorning in its faith-based component.

Marshall Shaffer is a New York-based freelance film journalist. In addition to Decider, his work has also appeared on Slashfilm, Slant, The Playlist and many other outlets. Some day soon, everyone will realize how right he is about Spring Breakers.

Watch On a Wing and a Prayer on Amazon Prime Video