The information on: `Pushing Tin'

What Is It?

The latest film from British director Mike "Four Weddings" Newell which deals with the stresses and strains of a group of air-traffic controllers at an airport in New York. While there are plenty of entertaining moments, the film never really takes off.

Who's In It?

A crack cast includes John Cusack (right) as top-dog controller and Billy Bob Thornton as the arriviste who threatens to steal his thunder. Cate Blanchett is wasted in the role of Cusack's put-upon wife.

What They Say About It

"The main weakness of Pushing Tin is in the script; by Glen and Les Charles, the duo behind Cheers... in the control room the one-liners and wisecracks flow. But over a two-hour stretch, unfortunately, these sitcom sprinters just run out of puff and eventually cover their fatigue with some feeble plot contrivances," Anthony Quinn, The Independent.

"...very bright, very entertaining... if a bit overlong - and it is Newell's achievement that he almost persuades us that being an air- traffic controller is more exciting and glamorous than flying a plane," Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian.

"Newell meanders through a two-hours-plus mix of macho melodramatics, romantic entanglements and comedy, not knowing whether he's making a desktop version of Only Angels Have Wings, a Bunuelian black farce, or a Tony Scott picture," Wally Hammond, Time Out.

Where You Can See It

Pushing Tin (15, 124 mins) is on general release