Hijack 1971 (2024)

This Korean hostage-taking/hijack drama is based on a true story, but it apparently takes some creative liberties for dramatic purposes. While the core elements of the hijacking and the pilot's actions are factual, some characters and events have been fictionalised.

We join the story in 1969 when a South Korean military pilot is removed from service following an incident when he failed to shoot down a passenger airliner as it was heading from South to North Korea, apparently hijacked, caring more for the wellbeing of the people onboard than following orders and considering the longer-term implications of North Korea and impact on extended families involved of not doing so.

We then jump forward two years to 1971 and our man has got a job as a commercial pilot and is operating as First Officer on the flight in question under the watch of the aircraft's captain. Some way into the flight, a man pops up with some home-made looking grenade/bombs and threatens to bring the plane down, killing them all, unless they fly him to North Korea so that he can defect - and he thinks, get rich. The back-story of the lone hijacker is apparently in question, but for our purposes it's rooted in the dubious activities at the time of the South Korean authorities, treating people's families as potential spies if they, or anyone they knew, had been in North Korea for any reason.

So anyway, the hijacker is now in control of the plane and we join the various members of the crew and passengers as they do what they can, obviously frightened for their lives, tense and anxious, to work towards overpowering him. The hijacker punishes anyone who is seen by him to be scheming against his action/plan which brings more tension and anxiety to the proceedings. And it does this part of the film very well. It's edge-of-the-seat stuff and the 1 hour 40 minute run time well, flies!

What's not so convincing is much of the 'special' effects of the plane in flight and backdrop which is, at times, almost laughably poor! But OK - it's clearly a low-budget outing and because the rest of it is pretty gripping, these scenes can be overlooked. The drama, suspense and tension are handled really well by the director and cast members. The secondary story about our pilot putting people before everything else and paying a huge price, is played out well as we see him put himself into risky situations time and again.

As usual with these kinds of dramas, knowing that it was a true story, well, even mostly true, adds great interest and enthusiasm to digest what's brought to the screen. There are plenty of stunts inside the cabin to watch and, again, these have been shot well. So, full of action, but also moving, especially during the end credits when we get real footage of the aftermath in Korea of the plane, the outcomes and information about our key pilot chappie. Well worth a watch, now streaming on a few services.