Hijack 1971: reviews

What the critics say average 6.8 from 13 outlets

• 8.0 KakuchopureiAlleef Ashaari Even if you have prior knowledge of what really happened, Hijack 1971 managed to still be filled with tension and drama, keeping me invested on the edge of my seat and immersed from start to end. Read
• 8.0 South China Morning PostJames Marsh With Ha at the controls, Hijack 1971 is an utterly engrossing white-knuckle ride. Read
• 8.0 movieXclusiveJohn Li This nail-biting thriller that will leave you at the edge of your seat also sheds light on the tension between the two Koreas Read
• 8.0 The Sun MalaysiaYasmin Zulraez Director Kim masterfully balances high-stakes tension with profound emotional beats. The film’s pacing is relentless, with each scene ratcheting up the suspense. Read
• 7.5 Kai-FongKai-Fong One of the subtle pleasures of Hijack 1971 is its early-’70s production design and retro free-for-all airline etiquette scenes (...) there’s an analogue tension that hangs in the air that serves the film well as a thriller. Read
• 7.5 Culture MixCarla Hay Whether or not viewers know the real-life outcome of this hijacking, “Hijack 1971” is still worth seeing for this unforgettable story. Read
• 7.0 The Korea HeraldKim Da-sol Instead of overly dramatizing the real event, Kim focused on portraying the characters. Read
• 7.0 Casey's Movie ManiaCasey Chong Kim also does a good job of escalating tension-filled confrontations between them both verbally and physically. I’m glad they don’t overact or succumb to histrionics with their subtly restrained performances Read
• 7.0 Windows on WorldsHayley Scanlon Though the outcome is already known to the home audience, Kim Sung-han keeps the tension high and defines heroism largely as compassion and selflessness Read
• 6.0 The Straits TimesWhang Yee Ling Based on a true incident, this is an efficiently told saga of in-flight terror that sticks the landing. Read
• 6.0 AsianMovieWebManfred Selzer After a rather slow start, "Hijack 1971" develops into an exciting roller coaster ride that does almost everything right in cinematic terms. Read
• 5.0 Yonhap News AgencyWoo Jae-yeon Mostly filmed inside the small plane with approximately 50-60 seats, meticulously recreated by the production team to reflect historical accuracy, the movie attempts to capture the extreme tension among the passengers by closely focusing on their fearful expressions and developing individual narratives. But it appears to fall short in conveying the genuine intensity of the dramatic real-life event it was based on. Read
• 4.0 HanCinemaWilliam Schwartz Unfortunately, very little even really happens. Despite several passengers getting named parts I can barely remember anything about any of them. Read