Hijack 1971

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.

The film is immersive and exhilarating, and I was able to witness the feelings of the side characters, which is really rare. It's one of the best Korean movies I've ever seen. It's brilliantly executed, and the fact that it's based on a genuine tale astounded me.

It's one of those very, very rare movies where you sympathize and understand everyone's point of view in what they do, despite whether what they do is good or bad; even the villain (the killer), you can understand his point of view and the reasons for what he does (you can identify a little via his bad past, but you hate the results intensely); they don't focus only on the hero's backstory, which is great.

This is also dramatic and hits close to home; expect to experience the characters' pain as well.

Hijack 1971 is a tightly executed thriller based on a real-life hijacking, told with sharp focus and simmering tension. While the setup is familiar, the film avoids melodrama and unnecessary flash, delivering a suspenseful narrative within the claustrophobic setting of a plane. Its controlled pacing and stripped-down style build to a strong emotional payoff. A fine example of economical storytelling, Hijack 1971 stands out as one of the more effective and disciplined thrillers in recent Korean cinema.

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.

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.