Movie Movie Podcast

I’m watching Resident Evil 4 getting ready for the new one and came up with this movies real quick. Enjoy.

Dronez

It’s the near future. The biggest sport in the world is drone racing. Pilots wear virtual reality goggles and fly drones through obstacles at breakneck speeds. Chuck is the most popular pilot, he has a ton of endorsements and a supermodel wife.

It’s race day and all the pilots are calibrating and taking their drones on practice flights. Chuck is cocky. He flies his drone within inches of the other pilots’ heads. They are pissed. We see the live sports report where they replay the event in slow motion. The commentators talk about how it’s classic Chuck. It’s unsportsmanlike, but Chuck is just so good it’s not like he was putting anyone at risk.

The sportscast then cuts to a pilot who just arrived. It’s Todd a young pilot with a chip on his shoulder. They talk about how he is the future of the sport. The race begins. Chuck does some impressive maneuvers and quickly is in the front of the pack. There are forcefields protecting the audience who cheer on the racers. Chuck’s drone is far out front but Todd’s drone is catching up. They are approaching the finish line. Todd’s drone pulls ahead. There is a turn right before the finish. Todd is trying to box him out. In a risky move Chuck moves to the inside and tries to pass. The drone runs up against the forcefield causing sparks. It continues to scrape the side and the field begins to malfunction fading in and out. Chuck accelerates and looks like he will get the win but he clips the other drone and goes out of control hitting the force field which can’t take the force. The drone flies out of the track and hits a child.

The title card is shown.

Chuck wakes from his recurring nightmare. His VR goggles showed him the drones view as it barreled into the child and he lives the moment over and over in his dreams. There are beer bottles all over the place. He still lives in his mansion but it looks like no one has cleaned it in weeks. His wife leaves him. She says they can’t watch him slowly kill himself with booze.

It’s months later and the mansion is even more of a mess. Chuck hasn’t left the house in weeks and just watches TV and drinks all day. Flipping through the channels it seems like Todd is in every commercial. It is clear he is now the most popular pilot.

Chuck hasn’t paid the mortgage since the event and the mansion is foreclosed on. With nowhere to go Chuck shows up at his father’s doorstep asking for help.

His dad is a gruff former pilot in the Air Force. He says he will let him stay there if he follows his rules. With no other choices Chuck agrees.

The dad forces him to give up the alcohol and nurses him through the DTs. After that he puts him on a physical fitness and diet program until finally dropping the bombshell.

The dad says Todd needs to fly again. He is too good to give up now. But he needs to learn real flying. He needs to learn to fly like his life is on the line.

In a long montage Todd’s dad teaches him how to fly an actual plane. He starts by reading manuals, then doing flight sims until finally flying and landing a small aircraft. They hug.

It’s the same sportscast and they are giving their predictions about who will win the big drone race that day. All the commentators pick Todd except one. She says everyone is forgetting about the X factor which is Chuck. He was the best the sport had ever seen and if he has his mental game in order he could easily win. The other commentators aren’t having it. Chuck is a has-been and the sport has moved on without him. Todd is no long the future, he is the present. Chuck is the past.

The race begins and Chuck is having difficulty. He keeps seeing flashes of the child dying. Then he hears the voice of his father telling him to fly like his life depends on it. He takes a breath and focuses.

His drone has a lot of distance to make up but slowly and surely it begins to pass the other drones. It’s near the finish line and Chuck and Todd’s drones are neck and neck. Chuck’s drone has a small opening it could fit through and take the lead. Chuck decides against it and bails. Two other drones fly by and Chuck ends up coming in fourth.

Chuck congratulates Todd on his flying and Todd admits he got into drone racing because of him. Looking defeated he approaches his dad who hugs him and says how proud he is of him, that was honest flying.

The End