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This Is a Hijack (1973)

** (out of 4)

Mike Christie (Adam Roarke) is a gambler who goes into debt and he owes the wrong person money. With his life on the line, Mike is desperate to get money so he plans the hijacking of a plane owned by a millionaire that he knows.

The 1970's were full of terrific disaster movies as well as movies dealing with various forms of terrorism. Quite often the two storylines would cross and I must admit that I'm a big fan of these movies. THIS IS A HIJACK is one that I had never heard of until recently and it's a pretty forgettable movie. It's certainly not awful but at the same time it's really not very good either. This is one of those films that just doesn't have anything interesting going on in it.

The biggest problem with this movie is that all of the characters are rather bland and boring. You really don't care about the gambler or his issues. You don't care about any of the hostages on the plane as they're all rather shallow and lame. The only interesting character is a rough man played by Neville Brand. This is the guy who smacks everyone around and is basically the enforcer. Brand clearly steals the film with his wild performance, which at least gives the film a little life.

The rest of the movie is rather bland. The director never builds up any tension and it's certainly not good when you get shots of the plane and can see the wires that are holding it. With the lack of any tension and the lack of a good story, THIS IS A HIJACK just doesn't have enough going for it.

From the VHS box ... "Adam Roarke (The Stunt Man) plays a reckless gambler who owes money to the mafia-too much money. There's only one way out of this mess, Roarke must must kidnap a millionaire to extort some mean pocket change-it's only a simple matter of hijacking the tycoon's private jet, with a little unwanted help from some mafia thugs." What is surprising is that "This is a Hijack", although advertised as "Your worst fears from today's headlines", is actually a totally tasteless "black comedy". Now I am not sure how a sensitive subject like hijacking a plane would play as dark comedy? Probably it didn't play much, if at all, since I am writing the first IMDb review. Amazingly this is above average entertainment, and definitely "dark". The millionaire's second in command refuses to pay the ransom, anticipating if his boss is killed, he would move into the top position. An ongoing argument between the FBI and a local sheriff (Dub Taylor) is another highlight, especially since Dub's plan makes more sense than the FBIs. With an outrageous script, clever dialog, and ample "black humor", this is a surprise winner. Recommended, if you can find it. - MERK

From the outset the acting is simply dreadful, if you can make it to the end you're doing well.