Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars in “7500” (Photo courtesy of Amazon Studios).
The Not So Friendly Skies
The code 7500 does not have the same ring as 187.
However, it represents a similar danger.
And the film “7500” intensely represents a danger that every flyer thinks about before boarding an airplane, post-Sept. 11.
In fact, a 7500 represents an even bigger danger than a 187.
In police jargon, a 187 represents a homicide.
A young Snoop Doggy Dogg popularized that term on songs from classic rap albums like Dr. Dre’s debut “The Chronic” and his debut album, “Doggystyle.”
In airline jargon, a 7500 represents a plane hijacking.
And unfortunately, a hijacking has the possibility of killing many people, while a regular homicide might threaten a smaller amount of people.
With the current climate of terrorist attacks in the air, if Tobias Ellis (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, “Snowden”) and Michael Lutzmann’s (Carlo Kitzlinger) plane gets hijacked, it could lead to a catastrophe.
Tobias is young.
But he has accomplished a lot in his 31 years.
Tobias has a woman who loves him.
The young man has a two-year-old son.
Furthermore, Tobias and his lady are looking for their own place to live.
While the young couple works, Tobias’ child stays with his girlfriend’s parents in Germany.
Tobias is American.
But he has adapted well to life in Europe.
He has a job as an airline pilot.
Tobias is the first officer.
However, Michael is the captain.
Michael has several more years of experience flying than Tobias does.
The two pilots have a cordial and friendly relationship.
However, the two do not know each other that well in the grand scheme of things.
Michael does not even know that Tobias has a girlfriend and a son.
They are simply colleagues with a good working and professional relationship.
However, when two people are put into a life and death struggle, they will quickly form a bond to fight off any threats to their lives and the lives of the passengers on the plane, not to mention the rest of the crew.
In “7500,” the airplane flown by Michael and Tobias will get hijacked at some point during the flight.
However, the suspense begins almost immediately.
The passengers walking through the airport look suspicious.
The fact that two people are missing from the flight even though their luggage is already on the airplane is extremely suspicious.
And the fact that every time a flight attendant closes the curtain that separates their work area from the first class seats, there appears to be a crease at the bottom of the curtain that looks very suspect.
Despite all of the tense moments, the flight from Berlin to Paris seems to be running smoothly as flight attendants routinely make trips into the cockpit without incident.
However, when things do hit the fan, getting to Paris will be the last thing on the pilots’ minds.
Getting out of this predicament, high in the sky, is their concern, which means landing the airplane safely and getting the 85 passengers and crewmembers safely off of their aircraft with no casualties.
“7500” benefits from the fear that air travelers still have about flying the not-so friendly skies.
Although there are many steps in place to keep passengers safe while they are in the air, all it takes is one slip up from TSA and a passenger with cruel intentions could wreak havoc on innocent lives.
Furthermore, TSA usually looks for certain things on a person that could be used as a weapon on a flight.
But what happens when passengers with evil intent create makeshift weapons that would not set off any alarms when going through security checkpoints and metal detectors?
Although governments around the world do wonders to help keep people safe while traveling, criminals are often looking to stay two steps ahead of law enforcement to commit their crimes.
Furthermore, criminals often look for weak spots to exploit when committing heinous acts.
The question is will the terrorists find a spot weak enough to exploit?
The brilliant thing about “7500” is that the length of the film is approximately the same amount of time that it would take to actually fly from Paris to Berlin.
“7500” begins with passengers arriving at the airport.
The movie then has flight attendants and pilots entering the airplane.
Then, “7500” has flight attendants allowing passengers to board the airplane.
Therefore, “7500” gives an actual portrayal of what pilots would go through on a flight from Berlin to Paris if hijackers tried to commandeer the airplane.
Gordon-Levitt carries the bulk of “7500,” displaying a wide range of emotions showing his versatility as an actor.
Anyone who has ever experienced a life and death situation, especially when the lives of others are at stake, knows that a person has to remain calm despite the possibility of death lurking around every corner.
While death creeps closer and closer, it becomes imperative to stay calm because the other potential victims can sense panic in the person in charge, causing them to panic even more.
Gordon-Levitt effectively goes through the range of emotions that anyone in his position would.
Despite Gordon-Levitt’s effective performance, the fact that “7500” is basically an airplane ride might make it too slow for some.
Furthermore, the film suffers from so predictable moments.
Nevertheless, “7500” represents a danger that still exists while flying.
Passengers have to worry about the coronavirus while flying.
But “7500,” now streaming on Prime Video, will serve as a reminder that old dangers in the sky are still clear and present dangers in the sky too.
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