7 Days in Entebbe is what I would call a competently made average drama-thriller. The performances from Rosamund Pike (especially) and Daniel Bruhl are both well done and the story in of itself was interesting, but how it was presented never gelled quite right. Even so, it’s probably worthy of a rental if you’re interested in the subject.
7 Days in Entebbe
(2018)
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense/Thriller
Universal | PG13 – 107 min. – $34.98 | July 3, 2018
Date Published: 04/24/2018 | Author: The Movieman
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Universal Pictures Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
Note: This review contains some plot spoilers, so readers beware.
THE MOVIE — 2.5/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: In July 1976, four terrorists hijack an Air France flight from Tel-Aviv to Paris and force the flight crew to land in Entebbe, Uganda. There, the Jewish passengers are held hostage, with their safety contingent on the release of dozens of terrorists jailed in Israel, Germany and Sweden. After considerable debate, the Israeli government employs the Israeli Defense Forces to execute a daring rescue.
Quick Hit Review: What should have been a thrilling and emotional telling of the events surrounding Entebbe, an event many stateside probably know little about (I didn’t), 7 Days in Entebbe never really hit its full stride. The movie was amazingly dull at times and even when we get to the finale with the military rescue, it was anything but intense. One of the issues the movie faces is characters that, frankly, were either underwritten or just were paper thin, most notably on the Israeli government side with Eddie Marsan’s character pushing towards the assault and the prime minister’s hesitance and wanting to negotiate. Again, could’ve been something in those scenes, but they were anything but tense-filled.
The film itself isn’t a complete drag, however. For her part, Rosamund Pike gives one of the more genuinely intense performances of the cast, going so far as to act with a, I guess, good German accent, and the sometimes underrated Daniel Brühl was decent opposite Pike. On the technical front, José Padilha at least does make a competent movie and does a fine job re-creating the 1970s era, just a shame Gregory Burke’s script or the pacing, which is on Padilha, wasn’t up to snuff. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.0/5 |
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This release comes with a semi-glossy, title-embossed, slip cover. Inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. The Entebbe Team (7:24; HD) is an introduction to how the project was put together from the screenplay to the cast and characters. Inside the Raid (7:45; HD) breaks down the real events from the eyewitnesses who helped some of the actors and what happened during the final sequence. Additional Dance Sequences (5:26; HD) are just scenes that didn’t make the cut. Previews – Darkest Hour, Beirut, Thoroughbreds, Gringo |
VIDEO – 4.0/5 |
| 7 Days in Entebbe arrives on Blu-ray where it is presented with a 2.39 widescreen aspect ratio and in a 1080p high-definition transfer. Like Beirut, released on the same day, this isn’t necessarily a beautiful looking movie to begin with, colors are muted with more of a yellowish hue in some scenes, I guess to give it that 1970s-era look. Still, detail is pretty good and there are a few instances of color that shine through. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| The disc has a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which sounds decent enough, though when 80%+ of your movie is primarily dialogue, the depth only is present in a few places such as the Israeli dance company sequences (with the song entitled “Chair Dance”) or the assault/rescue finale with the pops of gunfire. |
OVERALL – 3.0/5 |
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Overall, 7 Days in Entebbe is what I would call a competently made average drama-thriller. The performances from Rosamund Pike (especially) and Daniel Bruhl are both well done and the story in of itself was interesting, but how it was presented never gelled quite right. Even so, it’s probably worthy of a rental if you’re interested in the subject. The Blu-ray release offers up good video/audio transfers and a few throwaway bonus features. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.