Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Shooting, blood, cursing in misguided plane hijack movie.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
97 Minutes
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In 97 MINUTES, Flight 420 is completing its journey across the Atlantic Ocean from London to New York. An hour and a half before landing, five hijackers carrying 3D-printed guns take over the plane. On the ground, NSA Director Hawkins (Alec Baldwin) is ready to shoot the plane down, but Chief Toyin (Jo Martin) wants to find some way to avoid that scenario, hopefully incorporating an "asset" who's on the plane. Then Alex (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), who seems to have been one of the hijackers, springs into action to try to save the pilot, who's been shot. Kim (MyAnna Buring), who has medical training, volunteers to help out. But with fuel running out, Hawkins and Toyin learn that there's a nuclear device onboard and that the terrorists' plans involve crashing it in New York to start a war.
Is It Any Good?
This misguided thriller moves in unwieldy starts and stops, with elements that seemed important 10 minutes earlier being forgotten and no cohesive sense of character or suspense. Feeling almost as if it were written by artificial intelligence (or rather unintelligence), 97 Minutes is a frustrating experience. For example, Alex kills a hijacker and stuffs the body in a closet. No one notices he's gone for a time, and then there's a hunt for him, and then the hunt stops, and then it starts again. Some of the hijackers seem to be guarding the passengers, but other passengers roam the plane freely. Sometimes the head hijacker (Pavan Grover, who also wrote the screenplay) is flying the plane; other times, he's wandering around.
Pieces of the story seem shuffled around and jammed together for convenience rather than logic. It probably doesn't help that star Meyers gives such a volatile performance, looking constantly irritated and treating women and a young boy roughly. At least director Timo Vuorensola -- whose Jeepers Creepers: Reborn was terrible right from the first instant -- manages to start 97 Minutes with a few moments that look promising before the film crashes and burns.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about 97 Minutes' violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
One of the movie's main themes is vengeance. Is revenge ever an acceptable excuse for violence? How does revenge create a cycle of violence?
Do you agree with Hawkins that it's better for a few innocent people to die to protect a greater number of innocent people? Why, or why not?
Why does the villain in this movie not consider himself a terrorist?
How do characters in the movie model teamwork?
Movie Details
- In theaters : June 9, 2023
- On DVD or streaming : August 8, 2023
- Cast : Jonathan Rhys Meyers , Alec Baldwin , MyAnna Buring
- Director : Timo Vuorensola
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Vertical
- Genre : Thriller
- Run time : 93 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : June 21, 2023
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