7 Days in Entebbe

The cuts to the dance ensemble in the final scene for which the viewer waits in mild suspense throughout the whole film should have gotten the director fired. Maybe it was supposed to be an artsy element to raise the film above the level of a mere genre movie based on real events? Anyway, it was a bad decision. The only thing that saves the film is its well-known cast. (06.04.2018)

I will not comment on the acting here, but the adaptation is a quite atypical construction of a historical event unsure of its purpose. The scene of the Israel army’s final operation is artistically fragmentized (the reason for that I am yet to understand) and combined with scenes of some African dance in the theatre. So, what was this film? Historical drama, or historical art? (18.01.2019)

It could have been a solid political-military thriller about freedom fighters, intelligence agencies, political leaders and a good reconstruction of an important event in history. It could hardly have turned into a melodrama or a love triangle, although I suppose that could have been playable too. The ending, however, is a mess; a flavourless carnage. The stellar cast doesn't have much room to play, a lot of supporting characters with potential are needlessly neglected, and by far the most interesting thing about the entire film takes place somewhere other than Entebbe, in Israel. A clear failure of the filmmakers, because to use such an interesting material, especially today, in such a mediocre, bland way, is a real art. The final military raid interspersed with wtf dancing is a pure display of idiocy. (22.06.2018)

The dance performance throughout the movie was confusing to me. Very confusing. Indeed, the characters of the dancer and her friend the soldier were unnecessary. But then the anticipated action-packed climax at the airport came, and all the images of flying bodies of dancers and fierce music gave it a powerful uniqueness, something I’ve never seen before. I give a thumb up for this originality, though it’s certainly not for everyone. I also give a thumbs up to the perfectly plausible couple of Rosamund Pike and Daniel Brühl, as well as the perfect Eddy Marsan in the role of Shimon Peres. (27.07.2020)

Padilha why do you make this, this art? You know you don't understand it. As a shade of his former intransigence, the one-time heir to Greengrass stimulates the decline of his own powers with schoolboy-like wooden allegories, leaving one to appreciate the documentary-style cinematography, Rosamund Pike believable in the sack, and look forward to the final showdown. And yet it’s hard to imagine a bigger disaster. A terribly goofy and confusingly shot and edited shootout that doesn't even bother to dwell on the cinematically rewarding actions of the Mossad invasion force, such as the blowing up of Ugandan fighter jets, the death of hostages, or the revenge of the Ugandan president on one of them, and instead intercuts it with an episode of stage dancing. Dear god. (27.06.2018)

The film was quite good, although... I wasn't too interested in the flashbacks from the lives of the terrorists. I would have gladly exchanged them for more political negotiations in Israel. I was pleased with the performances of Rosamund Pike, Daniel Brühl and Eddie Marsan, but I did not understand the storyline with Sarah and Zeev, it seemed completely out of place and then just fizzled out in the end. (09.09.2018)

There must be a mistake somewhere, as I was much more interested in the dancer's fabulous ballet creations during the closing credits than in the whole plot of the movie. On the plus side, this political thriller is endowed with a fairly solid cast and unquestionable informational value. (55%) (20.08.2022)