Take flight for terrific terror in the skies
7500 (TBC, 92 mins) Directed by Patrick Vollrath Reviewed by James Croot ★★★★
European Air’s Flight 162 should have been just another day in the cockpit for pilot Tobias Ellis (Joseph Gordon-levitt).
A quick trip from Berlin to Paris, where the 31-year-old first officer would get a chance to practise his captaincy skills under thewatchful eye ofmichael Lutzmann (Carlo Kitzlinger).
All the crewwere in a relaxed mood, with Tobias happy to banter with his flight attendant girlfriend aboutwhere they should send their 2-year-old to school and the captain joking about their nice aeroplane: ‘‘It has two wings and two engines.’’
Even two late passengers can’t spoil the mood.
That all changes when, minutes into the flight, as one of the crew brings in the pilots’ drinks order, twomen rush in from the cabin. Stabbing Michael and injuring Tobias, the pair attempt to seize control, but are overpowered, with one knocked out and the other repelled.
But shutting the door on the would-be hijackers only succeeds in putting the passengers in greater danger.
Revealed as a trio of remaining ‘‘terrorists’’, they now even more desperately want into the cockpit and will do whatever it takes to get Tobias and Michael to reopen access.
A kind of United 93- meetsParadise Now by way of Flight Plan, Patrick Vollrath’s nailbiting and nerve-shredding feature debut is undoubtedly this year’s Hotel Mumbai.
This is a gripping and compelling watch that’s not for the faint-hearted and uses its constrained location to maximum effect.
German film-maker Vollrath’s greatest skill lies in his use of sound, the full frame and restricted point-of-view shots.
We share Tobias’ growing panic as he witnesseswhat is going on in themain cabin through the cockpit door camera and we feel a cold claminess begin to cascade as he hears the continued thumping (and expletives), as the assailants try to break it down.
But what makes 7500 (named after the coded call sign for a hijacking) a cut above the Air Force Ones, Die Hard 2s or Executive Decisions is this isn’t a black-andwhite tale of good and evil.
Yes, there are unspeakable acts and plenty of thrilling table-turning on offer, but this is a tale of how fear comes to everyone, how faith can become corrupted and how commonality can be found even the most conflict-filled situations.
Its message is summed up in the opening Gandhi quote, ‘‘an eye for an eye leaves thewhole world blind’’.
Released at a seemingly perfect time, 7500 is amovie you’ll be relieved to not be watching at 30,000 feet.