7 Days in Entebbe (2018)

7 Days in Entebbe (2018)

2018 PG-13 107 Minutes

Thriller | Drama

Four hijackers take over an airplane, take the passengers hostage, and force it to land in Entebbe, Uganda in 1976 in an effort to free of dozens of Palestinian terrorists jailed in Israel.

Overall Rating

5 / 10
Verdict: So-So

User Review

  • Entebbe attempts to explore political revolutionism and oppression with uneven results. A scenario I've never acknowledged, Daniel Brühl and Rosamund Pike, all vital (yet very specific) ingredients that I personally search for in modern thrillers. Honestly these two actors are in my favourites list due to their past credits, I mean 'Rush' and 'Gone Girl' are exceptional. But in the case of Entebbe, I unfortunately felt nothing. Depicting the true story of an Air France plane hijacking that held passengers hostage in Uganda in an attempt to get Israel to release Palestinian prisoners. On paper, this should be an easy exercise in creating an exciting thriller that still conveys the revolutionary motives of the freedom fighters. Instead, the script is bogged down in political affairs between the Israeli defence force and the prime minister where more time should've been spent portraying the hostage situation. It's just incredibly uneven, both in the screenplay and its pacing, which ultimately left me underwhelmed and occasionally bored. Pike and Brühl are excellent yet again, they both have moments where they shine above the tedious dialogue. However when communicating together, there was no chemistry. They didn't work well as a unit, and unfortunately it's obvious. The first act, which involves the plane hijacking, built up tension supremely well as the freedom fighters increase the rate of threats and divulge into their ideology. The third act was also well executed as the Israeli defence force attempt to infiltrate Entebbe airport. The second act though, oh dear. Overlong, unexciting, tediously dull and a waste of talent. The pacing dipped substantially, to a point where I nearly fell asleep. The frequency of political monologues and conceptualising revolution was too high, there was no effort for character development. Also, Marsan was unusually monotonous in this, wasn't a fan of his performance. A watchable depiction of a true event but the screenplay felt too preachy creating a uneven tone. Oh, what was all the dancing about? The woman falling off her chair constantly was irritating me...