Hijack 1971

This movie made me write my first IMDb review, it's THAT GOOD yall.

I really didn't expect anything coming to see it at the cinema. It's honestly one of the best Korean movies I've seen in my entire life. The acting is out of this world, the movie is very immersive & thrilling, beside the main character's', I got to see the side characters's emotions as well which is very rare. It's so well executed and the fact that it's based on a true story blew my mind. I don't know what else to say, just go see it. Best plane hijacking movie ever. Also it's emotional, and it hits deep, prepare to feel the characters' pains as well.

Who knew? Before Captain "Sully" made his miracle emergency landing on the Hudson Bay, in New York in 2009, a Korean pilot accomplished an equally harrowing feat on the other side of the globe decades earlier. I caught this movie by accident and didn't know what to expect. Was very pleasantly surprised. The all-Korean cast did a great job of conveying the true story of a hijacked plane that was ordered to fly to communist North Korea, re-routing the frightened passengers off their scheduled flight to Seoul. The story begins with a rookie, first officer who has been outcast among his fellow pilots for refuting to follow orders earlier when a plane had been hijacked to North Korea, and he was ordered to shoot one of the plane's engines to disable the plane and stop it from reaching the communist border. Those passengers were hijacked to North Korea in 1969, detained for months and released to South Korea where they were ostracized and treated as spies in their own communities. The pilots, and crew of that plane were never returned to South Korea because they had special skills and training. Although the rookie first officer has completed his training, he has never been allowed to do a solo landing due to the other pilots' dislike and mistrust of him. On this day in January 1971, the captain tells him he wants him to do the landing and he is very pleased that he will finally get an opportunity. However, he does not know that this will be a very memorable day for a number of reasons. A bitter young man has made his way on the plane with several bombs that he uses to blow a hole in the plane and threaten the frightened passengers. The hijacker demands that the pilot and first officer take him to North Korea. Over the course of the movie, we see some amazing flying stunts as the rookie officer tries to outmaneuver the vicious hijacker who unleashes his violence on both the passengers, crew and first officer and captain. At the same time, the Air Force has launched two fighter planes and ordered them to shoot the planes engines to disable it from crossing the border. North Korea has also launched its fighter jets. This movie pulls all of the right strings. It is action packed, and I certainly shed a tear or two when I realized it was a true story. Definitely stay for the closing shots and credits. Very moving.

What to say other than this is a solid movie with a solid plot and solid CGI and solid acting. However, for a Korean film, I thought it fell short in comparison to some of the greats. I mean, not every movie would be great, but Koreans are exceptional with the balance of comedy and tragedy. Many Korean movies really move the emotions, having you laugh in tears in the beginning and sobbing uncontrollably in the end.

The reason a lot of Korean films are losing their strength is because they're trying too hard to copy Hollywood. This film would be one of those and so the story seems generic and the dialogues just move the story along without making any real impact. As such the movie doesn't leave much of an impression.

I think a better writer could've made this movie great by going back to what they do best, comedy and tragedy.

6/10.

'Hijack 1971' is a fact-based story of a pilot's heroic actions during a hijacking.

In 1968, a South Korean passenger aircraft was hijacked and flown to North Korea. Only 39 of the 50 passengers were repatriated, and the hijacker received a big sum of money for the plane. In 1971, the hijacker's brother, 22-year old Yong-dae, hijacks a plane and forces them to fly to North Korea.

With the pilot injured and blinded, First Officer Tae-in takes over the ranks as pilot. Armed with hand grenades, sole hijacker Yong-dae has the upper hand, with the passengers reeling in fear. Now, Tae-in and the passengers must devise a plan before reaching North Korea, in fear that they might follow the same fate as the passengers of the 1968 hijacked plane.

The film offers plenty of drama, action and suspense and is guaranteed to have you on the edge of your seat for its entire runtime.

How 'Hijack 1971' builds the tension is freaking crazy. It is gradual and follows a step-by-step manual, and it makes sure that each step is impactful enough. I don't think I've watched this quality of action sequences happening in planes in Korean movies. The CGI effect is satisfactory as well. There are some weaknesses, but they are not about technology itself, but how the director uses it is too outdated. Slow motion right after the bomb exploded is just too cliche and even cringy. Also, there are some tear-jerking soap opera moments that hinders the focus of the audience because the director intends to focus not only on action but also on the story of each character. Even so, I get the intention, and I'm glad that 'Hijack 1971' is not about CGI pew-pew. Because of that story, the movie brings more reality and thus tension and thrill in the end.