Very disappointing...

Beautiful, moving film.

A Masterpiece!

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

There's quite a few negative reviews here and it is quite interesting to see the different opinions and things that people got out of the film. For me I really enjoyed it - it really portrayed the life of an ATC really well and all the intricacies and detail was cool to see - the Director obviously tried to introduce us to the stress, fast-paced world of an ATC and the sort of pressures they are put through. It is enjoyable to watch Cusack's energy - if not a little stressful. Billy Bob Thornton has a cool swagger and devilish charm that draws you in and is great as a stark opposite to that of Cusack's character.The reason I enjoyed this film was for the portrayal of the unique roles of ATC's and the human element of Cusack's evolution in his character as he realized that his lifestyle was terribly unhealthy. The two characters, in the end, learnt much from one another's differences.

What I thought to be an entertaining John Cusack film, given his successful late 90's streak, "Pushing Tin" was not. John Cusack plays a top air traffic controller in a world where one mistake could cost hundreds of lives. His position as alpha dog is unchallenged until Billy Bob enters the game as a newly transferred controller.That's pretty much all that is going on in the work environment. After this, the film relies heavily on anything but the interesting world of radar and traffic control and focuses on the life outside the work boundaries, touching subjects like family, infidelity, deception and strange ways to see John Cusack's character get bested by Billy Bob's.I am surprised to see Mike Newell loose form after "Four Wedding and A Funeral" and "Donnie Brasco". The writing was a complete mess and years later I think it's only good for a Sunday afternoon watch where you could do other activities while running the movie in the background.

Pushing Tin is the most realistic movie in the history of movies, and I know it for sure. Billy Bob Thorton is a shaman who has moved to a strange new place - no one knows where it is, it is a mystery - with his wife (in the movie and in real life!) Angelina Jolie. John Cusack is a hot young air traffic controller, his character probably has a dumb nickname or something. Like "Shoop." He's in that other movie where he runs a record shop. He suucks. Anyways, he is afraid of Billy Bob or something, he seems very insecure. They're always making mean faces at each other from afar, and saying one-liners at each other and stuff. They're too wussy to actually fight it out like a couple of bros. The airplanes almost hit each other sometimes, don't panic, it's all good.

I was listening to Stephen and Sam from AllMovieTalk.com on their podcast the other day and they were listing their top 6 plane movies. Stephen mentioned this film and, while it is not entirely about planes, it is about air traffic controllers.John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton are controllers. Cusack is the top dog, and Thornton is the new guy. They don't really get along, and things really get out of control when Cusack sleeps with Thornton's wife - Angelina Jolie.This is my third encounter with Miss Jolie today. It is her birthday, so I was recalling my favorite Jolie film (The Bone Collector) which came out the same year as this film. It was also the year for Girl, Interrupted, by the way. Anyway, I went to the mailbox this afternoon and there was this month's Esquire with Angelina on the cover, and now I see her her looking a fine as ever. It has been a Jolie day! And who is Cusack cheating on with Angelina? Why, it's Cate Blanchett. Ah, the grass is always greener...Director Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Donnie Brasco, Four Weddings and a Funeral) did a good job, but most of the credit for the movie goes to Cusack, who did a great job as someone dealing with a life going out of control.By the way, it is NOT a comedy. I heard it was billed as one, but it is more about what happens when you always try to be top dog and forget what is important in life.It was a GOOD Angelina day.