Aftermath is a very slow-paced thriller based on events surrounding the tragic airline collision over Uberlingen which occurred in 2002. This film was written by Javier Gullon and directed by Elliot Lester. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as a construction supervisor who lost his wife and daughter in the airline disaster. Scoot McNairy plays the air traffic controller who got distracted at a crucial moment which led to this tragedy occurring. The cast includes Maggie Grace, Martin Donovan, and Hannah Ware.
Schwarzenegger’s lead role of Roman Melnyk is based on a fellow named Vitaly Kaloyev, who took matters into his hands when he felt the response to his family’s demise in the disaster was not handled as sympathetically as he would have liked. McNairy’s Jake Bonanos is the air traffic controller who ends up facing the brunt of the scandal and of Roman’s outrage.
This is a very slow, ponderous journey in spite of the film not having a long running time. Schwarzenegger doesn’t put in a bad performance, but the script does not really have him all that compelling. McNairy seems to have a much more interesting emotional range to follow. It’s a fascinating subject, but the film itself just didn’t keep my interest as much as I was hoping. It may be that I am too used to Arnold in his usual shallow but witty action hero mode.
So this film ended up being a mediocre take on what is really a more fascinating tale in real life.
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