Review of A Hijacking (2012) by Gordon B — 17 Jan 2014
Swapping gun firing and Navy Seals for tense quiet negotiation scenes, A Hijacking will be compared to its American brother, "Captain Phillips". A Hijacking is the same story, but in a different country and a psychological battle of wills rather than a thriller.
A crew of seven men are taken hostage by Somali pirates. Its up to stoic and talented Julian, the CEO of the company to get them free. Instead of taking the advice of the Colonel they hired, Julian makes the mistake of doing the negotiations himself.
What follows is a four month long harrowing waiting period for the crew, and tense boardroom battles for those on the other side.
The film takes it slow and steady, having some amazing and incredible scenes. There is much nuance to the cultures, both the pirates and the Danish. They don't have a superior Navy like the US, so you can't expect gunfire and snipers to end the situation.
Some of my favourite scenes are: Mikkel sings Happy Birthday to his daughter with his captors, the pirates force Mikkel to eat the food he's prepared for them first in case its poisoned, Julian's tense negotiation scenes and saving his co-worker from awkward situations, and boardroom scenes.
A Hijacking may not have a lot of gunfire and bravado, but it makes up for it with human emotion and incredible tension. Its surely not a film to be missed, if you enjoyed Captain Phillips.
This review of A Hijacking (2012) was written by Gordon B on 17 Jan 2014.
A Hijacking has generally received positive reviews.
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