Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
The spirit of a recently deceased expert pilot mentors a newer pilot while watching him fall in love with the girlfriend that he left behind.
Spielberg's remake of A Guy Named Joe is a well-intentioned but tonally uneven romantic fantasy that never quite gels. The premise is inherently sentimental and the execution leans heavily on familiar ghost-romance beats without adding much freshness. Dreyfuss and Hunter have chemistry but the script underserves them, and the comedic-serious tonal shifts feel awkward. Visually competent with appealing aerial and forest-fire photography but nothing distinctive. The ending resolves too neatly and emotionally flatly given the weight of the premise. A minor Spielberg effort that feels like a passion project that didn't fully ignite.