97 Minutes movie review

MOVIE TITLE: 97 Minutes

This airline thriller is now playing in theaters.

RATING: 1 hour 33 minutes

LENGTH: R

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: C

IN A NUTSHELL:

The director is Timo Vuorensola. Writing credits go to Pavan Grover.

The movie is about a hijacked plane that will crash in only 97 minutes when its fuel runs out. Against the strong will of NSA Deputy Toyin, NSA Director Hawkins prepares to have the plane shot down before it does any catastrophic damage on the ground, leaving the fate of the innocent passengers on the plane in the hands of Alex, an undercover Interpol agent who has been embedded in the terrorist cell.

THINGS I LIKED:

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a fan of Jonathan Rhys Meyers and feel bad for him that he just can’t book the big Hollywood blockbuster movies. I loved him in the popular TV series “The Tutors”, but ever since then, he’s been pumping out only B movies.
I’ve always gotten a kick out of Alec Baldwin. This movie sure was an easy paycheck for him.
Other cast members include MyAnna Buring, Jo Martin, Michael Sirow, Pavan Grover, Anjul Nigam, Slavko Sobin, Danny Bohnen, and more.
The director used some really cool camera shots. It had to have been tricky to film in such tight quarters as an airplane cabin.
There’s an interesting conversation between two characters about Shakespeare’s Hamlet that helps us understand a character’s motivation.
This kind of movie always makes me wonder what I would do in that situation.
There’s a fun twist at the end. I figured there would be one but it was different than what I thought it would be!
Like every movie made nowadays, the heroes are mostly women.
I liked the song at the end of the movie by Livingston.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

One of the problems is that we only get to know one of the characters, so it’s a hard sell to want us to care about most of the people on the plane.
Some of the dialogue is really dumb.
Who shoots a gun on an airplane? That’s insane because it could cause the plane to immediately crash.
The ending “change of heart” was absolutely ridiculous.
There are some filters used on several shots that made the film look hokey.
Due to the title, I thought there would be more shots of clocks, timers, and other count-down moments.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Some profanity, including F-bombs
Lots of blood and splatter
Many people get shot and often die brutal, bloody deaths.
Violence with various weapons, as well as hand-to-hand combat

THEMES:

The journey to find the true way.
Vengeance
Hope
Truth
Justice
Family
Survival
Trust
Proving your worth

INTERESTING LINES:

“Some innocent people are going to die so that more innocent people can live.” – Hawkins (Alec Baldwin)
“Vengeance is both rational and morally justifiable in the face of injustice.” – Alex (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers)
“The path you are on will not lead you to the peace you are seeking.” – Hitar (Anjul Nigam)
“So, we all die for justice? Who dies for ours?” – Kim (MyAnna Buring)