‘7500’ is a tense, mid-air thriller

Posted on June 26, 2020

By MARK VIOLA

As large as commercial airliners are these days, it never ceases to amaze just how small the cockpits are. It’s hard to ignore how cramped a cockpit can be while watching the new Amazon Prime thriller, “7500,” because nearly the entire movie takes place inside that small space.

The feature debut of German filmmaker Patrick Vollrath, who directed and co-wrote the film, “7500” follows a commercial flight from Berlin to Paris. The title refers to the emergency code for a hijacking, and that is exactly what happens, forcing co-pilot Tobias Ellis (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, “Inception”) into unfamiliar skies.

The basic story isn’t really anything new, although plane-hijacking movies have not really been done much since the Sept. 11 attacks for obvious reasons. What sets “7500” apart is the claustrophobic nature of how the filmmakers go about telling the story, confining nearly everything to just the cockpit, as well as a stellar lead performance from Gordon-Levitt.

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