The Assault

Every nation has their special police/squad team. So do the french as you can see in this movie that is based on a real event that occurred in 1994. Something is going down (no pun intended), which the french police tries to stop. Of course this can be eerie, especially because you will think of another event that happened a few years later elsewhere. While no real connection is made, you can sort of feel it.

What makes this stick out, is the fact, that there are quite a few good action set pieces and a real character development amongst our characters. While I haven't checked upon how close this is to what happened originally, I can tell you that this is tension filled stuff indeed.

one of the worst ever seen so far about hijacking a passenger plane. the screenplay is badly enough to put several female characters in it, yet the wife of the french special force member with their daughter, the woman who works for the french emergency management authorities, the female passenger sitting next to her parents, are totally unnecessary casting. the scenes about how the french government handling such situation are also very laughable. those four hijackers also acted so lame and so stupid. the most ridiculous plot is how those 4 hijackers could so easily get on board without any reason to justify their success. the scene about the stupid french woman who works for the government trying to bribe the terrorist leader so naively is also a big laugh. there are so many useless and meaningless scenes in this movie dragging out the whole time just like the airplane on the tarmac. the final assault is also like a child play, so laughable and and so lame. showing the wife crying while watching the rescue progress is also so laughably lame and totally unnecessary. this is one of the worst films in such genre and it should not be put into production in the first place. a total waste of money and time of yours and mine.

While we are on a subject of movies based on true events, we must mention this French gem from 2010. Although the production values are not blockbuster-like, as you would expect them in a movie of this caliber, the usual French colour manipulation and slight blur applied in post-processing made the whole thing look much better with almost noir vibe. I had some doubts about this movie, that it will be some Taxi-like action, but I assure you that this is a serious movie. The only flaw that I could think of is that they didn't manage to fully develop the characters, but then again that wasn't the point. The point was the assault, and that part was done perfectly.

In the past decade we have seen a number of movies portraying special forces of different countries (SWAT, BOPE…) so we finally get the chance to see the frenchies in action, and out of all them, they were most successful (at least in real life). The Assault is a movie about the hijacking of Air France Flight 8969, that was taken by the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) in the December of 1994 and the attempts of the French government to peacefully resolve this situation. Although this happened in 1994, after the September 11 attacks and a number of failed attempts to hijack other planes this is still a very interesting subject, especially now with the rise of the Islamic extremists. Speaking of them, we have a rare chance to look inside the mind of your average terrorist, and we have to thank the actors for that. Along with the actual raid, that part of the movie was just so fascinating to me. Maybe because of the outcome of this hijacking, they didn't hold back with the story and we can actually see what is going on behind closed doors. Bribes, pleads, blackmail and only as a final solution an assault… With a very talented director and a great cast, this movie will keep you on the edge of your seat with its realistic action and suspenseful atmosphere. The special bonus is that it's all true, and this just adds more tension to an already intense movie. I will not reveal you what happens in the end, but if you want you can check out the links below for more information, enjoy… As a final note, I must implore you that as with any other movie that isn't made in USA or England, please DO NOT watch the dubbed version, it will ruin the vibe…

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Apparently this is made after a true story. The people are real, the story is real, the events are real. Alright. I wish that would have been made more clear from the start; it was not and i think it skewed the movie a little.

This movie is part great, part horrible. It is very clearly defined which plots are well done and which are just we need something here to show for screen time.

The behind the scenes parts, the whole management, politics, government discussion parts, all that is absolutely bad. It feels like a cheap D rated movie project with the most unbelievable and uninspiring characters ever. It is bad.. real bad.

Now, the scenes with the special team, the terrorists and even flight crew are just gems. I gotta say by the time the movie was over, i was rooting for the flight crew over anyone else. The ending scene with the captain is absolutely a cult classic! I love it.

So this movie suffers from bad background plots. From the government meetings, officials, even the lead special forces guys' family.. it's not well made. It is very forced and some are worse than others. Very hard to describe but if you watch you will get that vibe immediately.

Also the movie is shot in monochrome. All of it which makes it feel very cheap and look way older than it is. Looks like VHS tape in quite a few scenes. Why do monochrome? Nobody knows. It works for the big shootout scenes but the rest.. no.

How can i sum this. 9/10 scenes clashing with 2/10 scenes for a total of 6/10

Recommend regardless. The rating is always arbitrary, it is a good movie.

I was fascinated and totally on the edge of my seat for this one. Despite flaws in the production and irrelevant scenes involving one of the GIGN member's wife and little daughter, included obviously for the sake of emotional pull, this film is an accurate reenactment of the Air France hijacking of 1994 and subsequent raid to free the hostages. This film is a stark reminder why we have to endure airport security and how crazy these Muslim religious fanatics are.

The movie had a made-for-TV quality and could have done with higher production values; perhaps the budget was limited. The version I saw had dubbed voices which made the acting seem worse than it really was. I think it would be a lot better in French with subtitles. A lot of the technical details of the planning of the raid were just not explained, no doubt the film makers were more interested in dramatic effect. But the fact that it was an accurate reenactment of real events made these flaws appear minor and the events more gripping.

At one point the French Government tries to appease the Terrorists by giving them a large sum of money without any hint or assurance that the hostages would be released. I said to myself, "Did that really happen? I mean, could they be that dumb?" Those leery of French politics will just have to groan and say "Not again!" But then at the time they didn't have the lessons of 9/11 to inform them.

All in all I was immersed in this film and was quite willing to overlook its minor flaws in light of the important lessons it teaches. Historical accuracy counts for a lot in this kind of drama.