In the opening moments of 7500, the new film currently streaming on Amazon Prime, we see people in the airport, going through security, checking out the little shops, going to the bathroom, nothing necessarily out of the ordinary. However, in the sea of white people, the film highlights the activity of these vaguely Arabic looking gentlemen, and we immediately know that they are the villains. Not just because they’re the only non-white people we see walking through the airport, but because the ominous ambient music makes it perfectly clear.
I’m not pointing this out because I want to condemn the filmmakers or anything like that. I simply wanted to point out a rather disappointing and frustrating use of tropes that feels like more than a decade out of date, not that it would necessarily be more acceptable had it come out in the era of immediate post-9/11 anxiety. I think given the craft and thought put into the film shows that director, Patrick Vollrath, and his co-writer, Senad Halilbasic, who is making his debut here, are clever enough to find a different approach in their portrayal of these terrorists.
The whole setup, in case it isn’t obvious enough, involves Tobias Ellis (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), an American co-pilot on a German airline. The flight begins like any other, he talks to his Captain, Michael Lutzmann (Carlo Kitzlinger), and meeting briefly with his girlfriend Gökce (Aylin Tezel), who he has a two-year-old son with. But it all very quickly takes a turn when the three hijakers, Kalkan (Passar Hariky), Kenan (Murathan Muslu), and the youngest, Vedat (Omid Memar), attempt to take control of the plane.
It fails at first, leading to one unconscious in the cockpit, and the other two outside, trying to get the door open while Captain Lutzmann slowly bleeds out, and Tobias tends to his arm wounds and take control of the plane again. What ensues is a stand-off of sorts, where he has to talk to an air traffic controller, explaining the situation, while dealing with the constant knocking on the door, and threats to passengers that he can see through the monitor. He cannot let anyone into the cockpit, but is forced to deal with the dilemma of possibly losing innocent lives as a result.
During this whole time, we – as the audience – never leave the cockpit. We are stuck in the situation with Tobias as things play out seemingly in real time. And it is very effective. What makes it work is the commitment to keeping everything grounded in realism. Aside from some subtle long takes, there are no overt stylistic flourishes, not even a score, the plot elements don’t stray into anything over-the-top, and when any acts of violence occurs, it’s fast, it’s brutal, and bloody. It’s a pure white-knuckled ride, and it is easy to find yourself thinking about what you would do if you were in a similar situation as our lead.
Speaking of, the efforts of the filmmakers would have been for nothing were the lead performance not been up to snuff. Thankfully, we have Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who is tackling his first lead role, or really first role of any significance, since 2016’s Snowden. And I gotta say, I’ve really missed him. He’s always been a likable actor, and his generally gentle presence makes for a good contrast with the situation his character finds himself in. You believe the heartbreak and horror in his eyes as the night unfolds, and you easily root for him to find a way through it all, hoping it all turns out alright.
It’s just too bad that 7500 doesn’t add up to all that much. Yes, it’s a solid, contained thriller, that is perfectly engaging for the duration that I was watching it, but if you’re looking for anything more substantive under the surface, there is ultimately very little. It is like going through a theme park ride. You go in, you experience some high stakes tension, and then it’s over. You don’t learn anything, you don’t feel anything deeper than what you see on screen, you don’t gain any new insight, or perspective. I don’t think that’s inherently bad; it still shows promise on the part of Patrick Vollrath, who I’m sure will go on to do bigger and better things, and 7500 will be left as mildly interesting footnote in the filmography of everyone involved.