7500

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Omid Memar, Carlo Kitzlinger, Aylin Tezel, Murathan Muslu, Aurelie Thepaut
Directed by: Patrick Vollrath
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
2020

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A pilot (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) tries to land his airplane safely after hijackers make an attempt to overtake the craft.

Review:

Tim: I enjoyed 7500- it's a flawed movie, but it does some interesting things, too. I read some mixed reviews, so I wasn't sure what to expect going into it. I recognize the film's issues, but I believe the positives outweigh the negatives, even if just slightly.

Hijacking movies are always thrilling, but they have taken on an increasingly powerful punch since 9/11. We recognize now that this can happen, has happened, and is often deadly. It feels like we got a number of these movies a decade ago, but they haven't been as prevalent in recent years. So, the idea of hijackers taking over a plane isn't original, but it felt like it's been awhile since we last saw this enacted in a movie. I went into this excited about the premise.

What's interesting and most unique about this movie is that roughly 98% of the film (or more) takes place inside the plane's cockpit. It's a single location film. This has been done before and it always creates a memorable experience- Buried did it with a coffin, Locke did it with a car. Many others have followed a similar approach, and I have to admit, I enjoy it. It certainly keeps the budget down, but it also gives those films a claustrophobic feeling. This works especially well on an airplane during a hijacking. I haven't spent time in a cockpit, but I've spent an immense amount of time on airplanes (I fly around the country for my job). Airplanes are inherently claustrophobic places and I can't even imagine that feeling if hijackers attempted to takeover the plane. Setting this movie almost entirely inside the cockpit definitely focuses our attention. Director Patrick Vollrath does an impressive job of staging the action so that the movie holds our attention. You would be forgiven if you anticipated an entire feature film taking place in a cockpit would be boring. While it's true his movie does drag in a few places, as a whole it's surprisingly more engaging than you would expect. I will say that even though the movie is short- it's only 1 hour, 32 minutes, the movie probably would have been better had 10 minutes been cut. This is still a focused film, which helps a great deal.

I'm a big fan of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and enjoyed his performance here. It feels like it's been a while since we've seen him. He is believable as this mild-mannered pilot who finds himself in an extraordinary circumstance. He has a great ability to connect with the audience and get you to care about him. He's definitely a standout here. Carlo Kitzlinger hasn't done much acting, but he was enjoyed in a smaller supporting role. Omid Memar was solid as one of the terrorists. In this movie, there's not a lot of space (literally) for many actors to make a difference. It's a sparse movie, but the cast is solid.

I did think it was interesting that I was aware that 7500 is the Emergency Transponder Code for "unlawful interference". The movie doesn't make that clear and I thought it was the flight number until after the movie ended and I did some research.

I'm not entirely sure why this movie received mixed reviews. Certainly, it's a bit generic, but we haven't seen a film about a hijacking that takes place only in the film's cockpit. I enjoyed the uniqueness of this setup. While the story doesn't inspire a ton of enthusiasm, the movie is effective enough that you always care to a certain extent. I had a good time watching this movie and although it isn't the most memorable film, it wasn't a bad way to spend 90 minutes.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Flightplan, Air Force One, Flight 93