Airport (1970)

The critic views the film as the trailblazer for disaster-soap hybrids and a progenitor of the blockbuster, crediting director George Seaton with building tension amid preposterous acting and soapy melodrama.

The critic found the film kept him interested on a dumb fundamental level despite few surprises and predictable plotting. He singled out Helen Hayes and Van Heflin for bringing wit and humanity to their roles amid the stiff performances and glossy production.

The critic finds it hard to take the sprawling disaster movie seriously after Airplane!, especially with George Kennedy's later comic roles, but praises the starry cast including Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin and Oscar-winner Helen Hayes for staying commendably serious. The result is competent, soapy entertainment.

The review called the film a handsome, often dramatically involving $10 million epitaph to a bygone brand of filmmaking, over-produced with a long cast of stars in a glossy, slick style. It noted that the central suspense situation fails to create real tension because the audience knows the outcome in advance.

This is the first in a ghastly series from Arthur Hailey's bestseller, featuring a mad bomber on the Rome flight and a collection of cardboard characters with pop-up problems, along with rampant clichés. The efficient cast is at least a mercy amid the snow-bound flying conditions and personal dramas.

The critic described the film as vacuous with the dull innocence of an accounting error, lacking electricity, smart talk, or flair. She singled out Maureen Stapleton as the only performer who suggests a human being amid the stereotyped roles and clichéd reactions.

The critic called the film an immensely silly multi-plot, multi-star soap opera that feels like a 137-minute television commercial. He noted its superficial contemporaneity, breathless pacing, and chock-full irrelevant facts while praising Helen Hayes' outrageous performance as the stowaway.

The piece positions the 1970 film as the successful launch of the disaster-movie golden age and a must-see for cinephiles and genre fans. It highlights the star ensemble and Helen Hayes' Oscar-winning turn as a standout element amid the franchise's later decline.