Focus Features

The 1976 hijacking of an Air France flight full of French and Israeli nationals and the one-shot-in-a-million rescue that then ensued has already inspired a documentary, two made-for-TV movies and one Golan-Globus opus. (I particularly recommend the outrageously cast “Victory at Entebbe” — starring Kirk Douglas, Elizabeth Taylor, Burt Lancaster, Richard Dreyfuss and Anthony Hopkins, among many others — but each telling has its own unique appeal).

So with “7 Days in Entebbe,” director José Padilha’s task was simple: Find something new to say about the 1970s most famous air rescue. To that end, he ably succeeds at his goal, even if the project itself never quite soars.

Padilha lets you know that this ain’t your run-of-the-mill geo-thriller right from the start, kicking things off with something rarely found in films of this ilk — a dance sequence. The opening titles set the geo-political stage over choreographer Ohad Naharin’s celebrated modern-dance piece “Minus 16,” a performance the film returns to at several key points, including during its otherwise routine action-film climax.

Watch Video: Watch Real-Life Nazi GOP Congressional Candidate in Insane Interview: 'Yes, I Deny the Holocaust!'

And that interplay between military raid (no calling spoilers on something that happened nearly 42 years ago!) and modern dance speaks to the larger aim of the film, which tries to stay true to the facts of the story while slightly deflating codes of the genre.

Take the ostensible protagonists: in this case, the hijackers themselves. Actors Daniel Brühl and Rosamund Pike play the real German reactionaries who boarded that fateful flight in July 1976 and, with the help of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, forcibly rerouted the plane to Uganda. Far from stock bad-guys, these ersatz terrorists are Marxist idealists in over their heads and uncomfortably self-aware. They know full well how it looks to the rest of the world when a pair of Germans take a plane full of Jews hostage, but like everyone else in this tick-tock procedural, they’re stuck playing their part.

While the hijackers and hijackees wilt in the heat of Idi Amin’s (Nonso Anozie, “Zoo”) personal fiefdom, Israel’s doveish PM Yitzhak Rabin (Lior Ashkenazi, “Foxtrot”) and hawkish Minister of Defense Shimon Peres (Eddie Marsan) squabble in the corridors of the Knesset over just what to do. The script by Gregory Burke (“’71”) treats these tense debates with similar nuance, recognizing them for they really are — power struggles in a precarious parliamentary government.

Also Read: HBO Picks Up Israeli-Palestinian Doc 'The Oslo Diaries'

Finally, the third narrative thread, which follows special ops soldier Ziv (Ben Schnetzer, “Goat”) as he trains for the mission, is most notable for what it doesn’t do. That is, by focusing on this composite character instead of the real-life military hero who has best come to be associated with Operation Thunderbolt, “7 Days in Entebbe” reiterates its more sober-minded approach. While Unit Commander Yoni Netanyahu (Angel Bonanni, “Shots Fired”) — yes, Bibi’s brother — does play a role here, he has much less the out-sized influence he’s given in other film versions, or even in the accepted cultural view.

That’s the film’s central goal: taking this culturally ingrained myth and draining it of clear heroes and villains while breathing life into the uncertain day-by-day process. And although interesting on the page, it does result in a slow-burn film that can often feel dramatically inert. Nearly every scene offers some variation on the same set-up, where characters sit around waiting, worrying and smoking.

The ultimate success of “7 Days in Entebbe” varies from scene to scene, and even more from actor to actor. As pill-popping hijacker Brigitte Kuhlmann, Pike convincingly pulls off a good deal of German-language dialogue while conveying her character’s growing descent into drug-fueled mania. On the other hand, as the wily Minister of Defense, Marsan goes to war with the Israeli accent and loses a resounding defeat. That whole narrative leg suffers as a result.

Also Read: Jerry Seinfeld Under Fire for 'Bombing' Joke About Israeli Airbase Visit

Ultimately, the film doesn’t quite succeed within its own stated goal. “7 Days in Entebbe” wants to offer a somewhat dispassionate view on the whole affair as a geo-political event that encompassed a number of overlapping parties, but it never fully fleshes out the Palestinian hijackers with the same texture as it does the German ones. While Brühl and Pike live rich narrative arcs as their extremist idealism spirals into chaos, their PFLP counterparts only get to represent agents of said chaos.

That isn’t to say that the film should offer a defense for what was an objectively terrorist act, only that the film talks a good game (and even dances up a storm) without ever walking the walk.

'The 15:17 to Paris' and 8 Other Movies Where Heroes Played Themselves (Photos)

Clint Eastwood's latest film "The 15:17 to Paris" stages a daring casting stunt. It tells the story of three American soldiers, Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos, who thwarted a terrorist attack aboard a train bound for Paris. And Eastwood cast Stone, Sadler and Skarlatos to play themselves and relive their heroics. But Eastwood's choice isn't without precedent, as other veterans throughout history have played themselves or versions of themselves on film. Some public figures have even gone beyond simple cameos to actually star in their own life stories.
Getty Images
Harold Russell - "The Best Years of Our Lives"

William Wyler's Best Picture winning masterpiece "The Best Years of Our Lives" was the first great post-war movie of the era, taking a look at PTSD from three different vantage points and ways of life. One of the most shocking and stirring was the story of Harold Russell, who played a version of himself, Homer Parrish, opposite Fredrich March and Dana Andrews. Russell lost both of his arms during an accident while making a training film and was given hooks for hands. His character grapples with the same affliction of trying to fit back into normal life, most poignantly in knowing he can't hold his bride-to-be. Russell is one of two non-professional actors to win an Oscar.
RKO Radio Pictures
Muhammad Ali - "The Greatest"

Before Will Smith would portray him in Michael Mann's film, Muhammad Ali played himself in 1977's "The Greatest," charting his life story from competing in the Olympic, changing his name from Cassius Clay, to refusing an army induction during Vietnam. And "The Greatest" rightfully has an impressively great cast for him to work against, including Ernest Borgnine, Robert Duvall and James Earl Jones.
YouTube
Howard Stern - "Private Parts"

Howard Stern became a minor movie star after the success of his biopic "Private Parts," with rumblings that he might even make a return to film. But he was born to play himself, and the biopic based on his memoir was designed to appeal to the crowd that worshipped his smutty on-air antics and those who misunderstood him, resulting in a surprisingly sweet Hollywood success story.
Paramount Pictures
Jackie Robinson - "The Jackie Robinson Story"

Jackie Robinson acted out his life story as history was unfolding. "The Jackie Robinson Story" offers him opportunities to show off his athleticism, but is more focused on his childhood, his time in the Negro Leagues and the racism he faced while playing for the Dodgers. Bosley Crowther wrote in his 1950 New York Times review that Robinson "displays a calm assurance and composure that might be envied by many a Hollywood star."
Public Domain
Audie Murphy - "To Hell and Back"

Audie Murphy was 30 when he played himself between the ages of 17 to 20 in "To Hell and Back," a war movie based on his own autobiography. Murphy was a scrawny, boyish looking soldier who was initially turned down by the Marines and the Navy due to his physique and appearance. But he eventually found a place in the army and became a decorated hero. "To Hell and Back" was a wild commercial success, and unlike Harold Russell, he parlayed that success to a 20+ year career acting in film.
Universal Pictures
Dr. Haing S. Ngor - "The Killing Fields"

Haing S. Ngor didn't exactly portray himself in Roland Joffé's "The Killing Fields," but he was a doctor who did live through the Khmer Rouge era that the film depicts. Ngor plays Cambodian journalist Dith Pran, who worked closely with American journalist Sydney Schanberg (Sam Waterston) and helped him to safety after the country fell to communist rule. Ngor became only the second non-actor after Harold Russell to win an Oscar.
Warner Bros.
Ben Sliney - "United 93"

Paul Greengrass' "United 93" feels incredibly realistic in its use of unknown actors and documentary-style filmmaking. But making it more effective was that Greengrass quietly cast Ben Sliney as himself in the film, an FAA National Operations Manager who gave the order to land every plane on the day of the 9/11 attacks, which also happened to be Sliney's first day on the job.
Getty Images
R. Lee Ermey - "Full Metal Jacket"

R. Lee Ermey served as a drill sergeant during his time in the Marine Corps and was brought on as a technical advisor for Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket." But after putting together an instructional video where he went on a tirade on some film extras, Kubrick immediately cast him as the ruthless, barking mad Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in his film. He's played numerous brash roles since his fiery turn, but it's good to know that he once said he's "basically a nice person."
Warner Bros.

1 of 9

Clint Eastwood is far from the first filmmaker to cast real-life characters in their own stories

Clint Eastwood's latest film "The 15:17 to Paris" stages a daring casting stunt. It tells the story of three American soldiers, Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos, who thwarted a terrorist attack aboard a train bound for Paris. And Eastwood cast Stone, Sadler and Skarlatos to play themselves and relive their heroics. But Eastwood's choice isn't without precedent, as other veterans throughout history have played themselves or versions of themselves on film. Some public figures have even gone beyond simple cameos to actually star in their own life stories.

View In Gallery