WestJet shenanigans an Oscar shoo-in?
SIMON BECK
Score one for Canadian content. This year's sure-fire box office blockbuster is straight out of Hollywood North.
WestJet: Mission Inadvisable premiered earlier this week, with critics giving two thumbs up (way up) to the action-packed tale of intrigue and high-tech espionage.
Audiences have thrilled to Vin Diesel, playing the cunning Doktor Beddoe, leader of the ruthless WestJet corporation, as he hunkers in his secret underground lair beneath Calgary planning a takeover of Canada's air space. The one with the most to lose from the evil scheme is the kindly but monopolistic Sir Robert Milton (Tom Cruise), whom movie fans will recall from the prequel, in which his Air Canada empire swallows the feeble Canadian Airlines yet ends up on the verge of destruction, until he unlocks the secret of the universe (massive layoffs) and defeats the forces of darkness (labour unions).
Doktor Beddoe wins the approval of the Lords Of All Knowledge, located in the Temple of Bay Street, by pursuing a low-fares strategy and playing the role of underdog. But unbeknownst to them, WestJet has used a secret code to electronically infiltrate the Air Canada domain and capture its magic formula. In a classic scene, Vin Diesel strides around his underground HQ cackling: "We will destroy them! We will own the skies!"
But when Sir Robert learns of the plot, he unleashes a team of $200-an-hour killer sharks to ensnare the WestJet enemy under mountains of magic paper known as affidavits. In a thrilling climax, the two bosses face off in a Montreal business club, where a fight to the death is called off only when Doktor Beddoe submits, apologizing for his corporation's heinous deeds and agreeing to pay $15.5-million to make the sharks go away.
The producers are so delighted with the success of the movie that another instalment is planned, in which the two corporations agree to work with each other. The working title is Nightmare in Coach Class: The Passengers Strike Back.
Adjacencies, not ad agencies
Convergence is dead: Long live adjacencies.
