Review by John Delia
A very intense drama, the movie 7500 jumps off running with nonstop terrorism aboard an airliner. The film is well made as it grabs you from the start so you know what is taking place, sets up the dire situation, then puts you in the cockpit with a terrorist and the crew. It’s a tragic happening reminiscent of other real incidents that have taken place in the world. One of the better made films about a hijacking, it will have you on the edge of your seat. Pop a lot of popcorn as you will need it not to chew on your fingernails.
It’s an ordinary day at the Berlin Airport as passengers go through checkpoints, take a last minute break in the rest room and sit for the call to go on board their flight. The crew is just getting into the cockpit with Tobias (Joseph Gordon- Levitt) the co-pilot getting situated and stealing a kiss from Gokce (Aylin Tezel) the flight attendant and mother of his 2 year old son.
Arriving aboard is Michael Lutzmann (Carlo Kitzlinger) the Pilot for this evenings flight and it’s noted that there are 80 passengers on the manifest with two late arrivals holding up the departure. But, all is set now and Lutzmann puts the plane in the air and levels out beyond the rough weather. Just as Nathalie (Aurelie Thepaut), the other Stewardess, gains entry to drop off the flight crew’s drinks the cockpit is rushed by Terrorists.
The director Patrick Vollrath makes his first full feature debut for the big screen and knocks it out of the park. He gets his camera crew to bring all the action up close to give the viewers the feel that they are in the close quarters of the cockpit. It’s alarming as the fight with terrorist and pilots puts everyone on board at risk for certain death.
Vollrath’s camera crew quickly delivers the initial attack providing the awful brutal images. You can feel the fight, the result of quick decisions, and a feeling of helplessness. You would think that Director Vollrath has been doing this for years as he never misses a beat introducing one deadly situation after another. I found myself audible urging Tobias on to disable the terrorist, it’s that realistic.
The main cast does an excellent job of making everything look very real and all-consuming. Gordon-Levitt quickly becomes the central figure that has to control the plane while dealing with his wounds. His Tobias does not have the flight hours as the pilot, but he has to clamp down and take over an impossible situation looking for any chance he can to put the airliner down safely. Gordon-Levitt has had some big roles in his 84 credits career, and he can add this one to one of his standouts.
Of the terrorists, Omid Memar as 18-year-old Vedat creates a character who finds himself uncommitted and flounders often from killer to savior. Confused and yet dutiful to his fellow terrorists, Vedat has to come to grips with decisions that he has not been trained to accept. He feels it’s his destiny to take control of the airplane, but has fears about losing his own life to do it.
7500, which is the code word for terrorist take-over, has been rated R by the MPAA for violence/terror and language. The film spools out in the English and German language with English Subtitles. The film is available on Amazon Prime Video. Please be cautious that youngsters not see the film as it has bloody violence and highly charged emotional scenes.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A very intense film for those who like realistic terror. (4.5 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Joseph Gordon- Levitt, Carlo Kitzlinger, Aylin Tezel, Denis Schmidt, Aurelie Thepaut, Murathan Muslu, Omid Memar
Directed and co-written by: Patrick Vollrath
Genre: Terror, Drama
MPAA Rating: Â R for violence/terror and language
Running Time: 1 hr. 32 min.
Opening Date: June 18, 2020
Distributed by: Amazon Prime Video
Released in: Home Streaming from Amazon