Barring a last-minute change of heart from both parties, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s time with The Terminator franchise has officially come to a close, signalling that 2015’s Genisys – a botched franchise revival that was initially designed to jump-start a new trilogy of movies, much like Salvation before it – will indeed go down as the Austrian Oak’s last appearance in James Cameron’s iconic sci-fi series.
That opens up room on Schwarzenegger’s slate for two things, it seems: online spats with Donald Trump and, perhaps most interesting of all, a return to drama-oriented material in the vein of Aftermath, Elliott Lester’s nervy revenge thriller that chronicles the crash and subsequent fallout of the Überlingen mid-air collision. Formerly titled 478, the picture places Schwarzenegger in the boots of a working-class husband and father who prepares to welcome his family – namely his wife and pregnant daughter – home after a long trip away.
But disaster strikes, and the plane carrying Schwarzenegger’s nearest and dearest is sent plummeting to the earth without a prayer. Also starring Mariana Klaveno, Kevin Zegers and Larry Sullivan, Aftermath then focuses on the fiery encounter between Arnie’s grieving husband and father and Scoot McNairy’s air traffic controller, whose mistake led to the collision in the first place. But as the trailer above shows, McNairy’s character is dealing with PTSD of his own.
Two strangers’ lives become inextricably bound together after a devastating plane crash. Inspired by actual events, AFTERMATH tells a story of guilt and revenge after an air traffic controller’s (Scoot McNairy) error causes the death of a construction foreman’s (Arnold Schwarzenegger) wife and daughter.
Aftermath has been formally cleared for takeoff, and though its destination may be a fair distance from Hollywood’s Oscar season, those who enjoy Schwarzenegger’s more drama-oriented performances (see: Maggie) can see what all the fuss is about on April 7th.
