So, I watched a 2022 documentary and I could only post about it now on Letterboxd because...
There should be a Part 2 to this documentary.
(Before I begin, of course this is being posted super-late due to the inexcusable issues that Letterboxd has had for all of today. I was SUPER not happy about it earlier and thought about not looking at this site at all for the next few days... I've calmed down although I have zero faith that everything is 100%. That faith has to be earned, you know. Also, what a crummy day I had today in general, but perhaps I'll go into detail on a future review. Oh, and I may not post another review until Saturday.)
I say that as of course this came out in 2022 and does not cover the no-good, miserable very bad 2024 that Boeing has had so far-from the manufacturing defects to a damn door falling off during a flight that only by a miracle lead to no loss of life. Downfall paints a rather damning picture of the aircraft manufacturer & made clear to me how such horrid behavior resulted in such a disastrous past several years for a company that used to pride itself on safety and quality.
Downfall covers the two crashes of 737 Max aircraft that happened a few months apart and resulted in the loss of life of 346 people. From the get-go, Boeing was incredibly callous and shady about these tragedies. Throughout the film, it was revealed that due to a corporate merger years ago, Boeing became only focused on the stock price than quality. It's a standard documentary which presents the events in chronological order, interviewed some of the reporters, talked to a few of the whistleblowers (including John Barnett; more on him at the end) and slowly unfurled the story of what flaw lead to those crashes... and how the company knew there was a major problem but moved ahead anyhow so they wouldn't lose money/their reputation.
Part of the story I heard before; however, the totality of it made Boeing look SO awful and repugnant a company. The viewer did not need to know the many instruments/aids that pilots use to fly an airplane or all the computer that work in tandem to make a complex process happen. Rather, it seemed to explain what happened well enough where anyone can comprehend what went wrong. As expected, some family members of those lost in the crashes were shown-it was key to show the human factor when it's contrasted against a company that just seemed so cold-hearted the temperature was absolute zero and just so callous.
It is still furious to hear of Boeing's behavior yet Downfall is important if you want to learn about their current fate and why the company is currently in BIG trouble. Incidentally, if you recognized the name John Barnett that I mentioned earlier, it's for good reason. He was shown often here; just a few months ago, he passed away due to what was ruled a suicide. Of course, it's the Internet and others tied to the case have either fallen ill or died, so some would like to think of it as a conspiracy. I'd feel better knowing a 70's paranoid conspiracy thriller isn't occurring IRL w/ a huge company but Boeing has acted so vile about the whole thing...
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