My first film review on IMDB.
A complex French thriller, well filmed and exciting, albeit derivative in many of its aspects.
Still well worth a watch.
I found the plot difficult to follow at times, and a second viewing was useful in better revealing the structure of the piece. I feel that certain aspects were deliberately left as hints, or loose ends, meaning that the viewer could interpret and guess at some of the plot. For instance there was reference to the head of the Pegasus Security organisation having access to flight data even during the final minutes of the flight which seemed unlikely or perhaps a deliberate red herring. It could also be argued that the true reason for the crash was still not absolutely clear at the end of the film.
The lead French actor was very good indeed, portraying an ordinary man, extremely well educated and with very fine hearing - almost a super power on him, compared to partially deaf older folk like me. As well as super hearing, he possessed tenacity and a willingness to back himself which many people do not have, and he pursues his search for truth even when the going becomes really tough.
He also shows his own weakness and vulnerability, which is partly a result of his excessive audio sensitivity.
The cabin shots in the aeroplane looked strangely false, perhaps due to the filming technique, and the camera movement being quite fluid in the confined space of an aircraft. This was disconcerting at times. It felt as though I was viewing a science lab, or a testing environment, rather than the interior of a plane in flight. It may be though that it represents the interior of a very modern aircraft very well, and that my flight experience is rather out of date now.
The film is cut into very short shots at times, contributing to a fairly sharp pace at some points, and allowing a number of characters to come and go, some easily and others less so. It also has a modern feel because of its emphasis on technology elements - satnav, tablets, autonomous (and very threatening) cars, audio playback on pc screens, etc. Nice cutting between the sounds in the aircraft and scenes set in the plane.
A complex French thriller, well filmed and exciting, albeit derivative in many of its aspects.
Still well worth a watch.
I found the plot difficult to follow at times, and a second viewing was useful in better revealing the structure of the piece. I feel that certain aspects were deliberately left as hints, or loose ends, meaning that the viewer could interpret and guess at some of the plot. For instance there was reference to the head of the Pegasus Security organisation having access to flight data even during the final minutes of the flight which seemed unlikely or perhaps a deliberate red herring. It could also be argued that the true reason for the crash was still not absolutely clear at the end of the film.
The lead French actor was very good indeed, portraying an ordinary man, extremely well educated and with very fine hearing - almost a super power on him, compared to partially deaf older folk like me. As well as super hearing, he possessed tenacity and a willingness to back himself which many people do not have, and he pursues his search for truth even when the going becomes really tough.
He also shows his own weakness and vulnerability, which is partly a result of his excessive audio sensitivity.
The cabin shots in the aeroplane looked strangely false, perhaps due to the filming technique, and the camera movement being quite fluid in the confined space of an aircraft. This was disconcerting at times. It felt as though I was viewing a science lab, or a testing environment, rather than the interior of a plane in flight. It may be though that it represents the interior of a very modern aircraft very well, and that my flight experience is rather out of date now.
The film is cut into very short shots at times, contributing to a fairly sharp pace at some points, and allowing a number of characters to come and go, some easily and others less so. It also has a modern feel because of its emphasis on technology elements - satnav, tablets, autonomous (and very threatening) cars, audio playback on pc screens, etc. Nice cutting between the sounds in the aircraft and scenes set in the plane.