7500
review by Bobby Blakey
I personally think that Joseph Gordon Levitt is one of the best actors out there and we just don’t get enough of him. Anytime I see him involved in a project I am instantly interested. His latest, 7500 was not one I was aware of but him being in it was enough of a reason for me to see it and the added idea of the story made it even more intriguing. Could this story deliver the intensity you might expect or will it be a flight that should have been delayed?
7500 follows what looks like a routine day at work for Tobias, a soft-spoken young American co-pilot on a flight from Berlin to Paris as he runs through the preflight checklist with Michael, the pilot, and chats with Gökce, his flight-attendant girlfriend. But shortly after takeoff, terrorists armed with makeshift knives suddenly storm the cockpit, seriously wounding Michael and slashing Tobias’ arm. Temporarily managing to fend off the attackers, a terrified Tobias contacts ground control to plan an emergency landing. But when the hijackers kill a passenger and threaten to murder more innocent people if he doesn’t let them back into the cockpit, this ordinary man faces an excruciating test.
Going in I wasn’t sure what to expect as it seemed extremely slow paced and kind of dull. What I quickly realized was the real life aspect they were using to tell the story with the mundane nature of how life is before things unexpectedly go off the rails. The opening of the film is the perfect set-up of not only what’s to come, but kind of a look into how they might solve who was involved as well during an investigation. There is a subtle tension that builds as you know something is coming, but not sure how or when it will kick off. At one point you might let your guard down as you settle into the idea of the upcoming plane ride.
The entire film takes place in the cockpit of the plane with all the outside moments via a video screen that the pilots use to see into the rest of the plane. This keeps the focus of the audience specifically on what the pilot is having to deal with as things go down. Levitt once again showcases his brilliance as an actor bringing so much emotion and intensity to the role. He is solely dealing with a lot of the situation on a
personal level as well as trying to figure out the right decisions that are in the best interest of all involved for the passengers and staff.
It is really a simplistic film that packs a big punch. There are some intense moments, but not the kind that are not action heavy but instead on the actions and possible outcome. There is a little action here but played up perfectly with realism instead of the Hollywood make-over. This film might not work for some due to the pacing and more realistic approach, but for me it delivered exactly what it set out to right until the seemingly abrupt end.