Downfall: The Case Against Boeing [2022]

Downfall: The Case Against Boeing explores cost of greed over safety. Or at least, it tries to while missing a lot of its big swings.

The Netflix documentary assembles a cross-section of journalists, victims’ families, aviation experts, pilots, and sitting congressmen to indict the Boeing Corporation for its role in concealing factors the doc asserts led to two disastrous crashes of its 737 Max commercial airliner. It’s a web of deceit, denial, and corporate greed that just might make you consider using the bus.

Few instances of corporate malfeasance are as infuriating as the scandal that stormed Boeing as a result of those crashes. It’s a case study in corrosive greed that wouldn’t be so worthy of attention if it hadn’t tragically resulted in hundreds of unnecessary deaths.

However, a documentary of this scale should have had a bigger narrative with maybe more serious revelations. After finishing it, it’s clear to me that director Rory Kennedy tried to balance the condemning narrative and scary revelations with the distress of the family victims. Sadly, from an objective point of view, the end product missed a shock factor and felt mainly bland.

One thing I liked about Downfall: The Case Against Boeing was the effective use of explanatory computer generated imagery to make clear the problems with Boeing’s tacked-on maneuvering software, and why their knee-jerk blaming of the deceased pilots was disgusting. The rest of the story is just as terrible.

Should you watch it?

There’s plenty of damning evidence wrapped up in Boeing’s own paperwork and the federal investigation into its activities. But it’s the corporation’s disenfranchisement of a host of dedicated airline industry professionals that really sticks here.

Where can I watch it?

You can stream Downfall: The Case Against Boeing exclusively on Netflix.