It’s a movie, so who knows how accurate it is, but that strikes me as a life-saving measure; the passengers were out on a freezing-cold river on a freezing cold day.
Putting other people in danger to retrieve your personal gear is unconscionable.
When nobody else is involved though, you do make certain risk calculations. Like, OK, they say don’t run back into the burning house, but I’ll gladly risk some 2nd-degree burns to retrieve my family’s passports so we aren’t stuck overseas a day longer than necessary. (If you’re wondering, the stupid gambit paid off, but let me tell you, crawling to avoid smoke inhalation is very good advice).
Prescription medication is also a life-saving measure and often kept in carry-ons per TSA’s recommendation. But I guess that doesn’t matter to MikeF.
You left out “fast”.
Medicine can be replaced. Leave the medicine and go to the hospital if necessary to get some more. Humans can’t be un-burned.
MikeF does this happen to you often enough to make it a BBQ pit rant? If so, please stop flying, because you are obviously bad luck to all the other passengers. 
What about someone with heart trouble who needs their nitroglycerin right now? Let them die?
Well, if other people are going to die, fuck yeah. I mean, if he’s holding up a line of people trying to escape, then c’mon dude.
I think we should make a list of approved exceptions to the “don’t get stuff from your bag” rule for nitroglycerin etc., and keep it on a card in each seatback pocket. Then, if the captain calls for an evacuation, the patient can check the list carefully before deciding whether to hold people back while he gets his medication. This should also help to resolve any disputes amicably, because if someone starts screaming at the person to get moving because their hair is on fire, he can refer them to the copy of the “approved exception” list in their own seatback pocket.
Sarcasm fail. The OP doesn’t say a thing about passengers rummaging in bags.
Grab the bag, get off the plane, then take the much needed medicine at the earliest possible moment.
Here’s an idea: if MikeF sees someone ahead of him having trouble with their carry-on, ask if they need help with the bag before trying to deck them.
Thank goodness, I was trying for parody.
I agree with Guinistasia.
You have no business “grabbing your bag” when other peoples’ lives are potentially at stake. :rolleyes:
Everyone I know who takes some sort of medication that is “right now” medication keeps in in a little bottle on box on their person. Nitro doesn’t do you any good if you are having an attack and its in your carry on above your seat - you won’t be able to get it easily enough. Since men don’t carry purses, its normal for them to have a small pill box with them for this - and a woman’s purse on a plane almost always goes under her seat - she can grab it without slowing things down.
But to excuse people, the brain works strange in an emergency - some people have a strong flight response and will just leave. Others fall into the pattern that is comfortable - i.e. to get off a plane you grab your luggage. You act on instinct - and it isn’t always good. Fortunately, it sounds like people quickly came to their senses when others pointed out that getting your luggage wasn’t the priority.