[Lee Jong-gil's Movie Review] The Takeoff of Aviation Disaster Films Was Good... The Emergency Landing of Chungmuro's Big Stars

Fuel Shortage but Round-Trip Flights and Stunt Flying, Japan Self-Defense Forces Threaten Civilian Aircraft...
Insisting on Realistic Production Yet Focus Falls on Unrealistic Story

Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, Jeon Do-yeon, Kim Nam-gil, Im Si-wan... Although these actors, who represent Chungmuro, have come together, the ticket power falls short of expectations. This is the story of the movie 'Emergency Declaration.' As of the 9th, it has only attracted 1,579,230 viewers. There is no problem with the individual performances. Although there is little room for interaction due to spatial separation, the professional consciousness of characters such as a detective, first officer, and Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is well portrayed.

Every action of Jin-seok (Im Si-wan), who terrorizes the airplane, creates appropriate tension. There are quite a few thrilling scenes, such as the airplane rotating 360 degrees or falling almost vertically. It is not a terror action film or a closed-room thriller. Director Han Jae-rim defined it as a 'disaster movie.' "Jin-seok is like a symbol of disaster. He rushes in like a tsunami and then disappears. I wanted to examine the impact of unexpected hardships on our society and explore ways to cope."

To enhance realism, Director Han focused more on the background than the characters and blurred the texture of the footage. He did not mind the halation (a phenomenon where strong light hitting the film causes reflected light to expose the emulsion again). By keeping a suitable distance from the roles and using handheld (a technique where the camera is held by hand), he gave the feeling as if the event actually happened.

The intention is not fully conveyed. Ironically, the story's framework is so bare that it lacks realism. The background is the Honolulu-bound flight KI501. Jin-seok sprays a white powder (MH-1) hidden under his armpit skin, instantly turning the airplane into a virus cultivation room. As passengers die one by one and fuel runs out, first officer Hyun-soo (Kim Nam-gil) declares an 'emergency declaration.'

Director Han stated, "The pandemic caused by the spread of COVID-19 proved that this is not fiction." Referring to the scene where flight KI501 circles around Seoul Airport while protesters opposing the landing gather, he said, "Lee Byung-hun read the script and said it was exaggerated, but such things actually happened. Rather than blaming someone, I wanted to convey hope to humanity that has reflected and developed through experiencing COVID-19."

As explained, 'Emergency Declaration' has many aspects that remind viewers of various disasters such as the Sewol ferry sinking and the spread of COVID-19. However, the story itself is surprisingly close to fiction. Flight KI501 enters Hawaiian airspace but is ordered to ban landing and returns to Incheon. In reality, no airplane operates with enough fuel to make a round trip to Honolulu. The scenes where KI501 flips and twists due to the captain's death are also unrealistic. Automatic operation limits prevent similar incidents from occurring.

The captain and first officer must guard the cockpit under any circumstances. However, Hyun-soo casually visits the cabin and even confines and interrogates Jin-seok. In Tokyo airspace, the Self-Defense Force fighter jets threaten KI501 with warning shots because it does not turn its nose. This is impossible, and the direction that the airplane crashes into a residential area causing casualties among its own citizens adds to the absurdity.

The problem also appears in the title term 'emergency declaration.' An emergency declaration is a kind of martial law declared by the captain when an aircraft facing a disaster situation cannot operate normally and requests 'unconditional landing.' Regardless of the reason, landing is given priority. Flight KI501, which has run out of fuel, would not have any problem landing even if it ignored air traffic control instructions. The government of the country where it lands would simply close the aircraft doors and seek solutions with our government. However, in the movie, the U.S. and Japan escalate the issue into an international problem rather than providing humanitarian support.

In the face of an unrealistic story, the realistic approach inevitably becomes powerless. Director Han deliberately lowers genre fun and tension from the middle to the latter part, emphasizing only the awareness of the problem, which even causes a loss of focus. The only character leading the audience in this film is In-ho (Song Kang-ho). The others are not only lacking depth but are sporadically placed with unnecessary backstories. If the original goal was to show how passengers face disaster, it might have been better to cast less famous actors. Just as there is no need to use 'Hanwoo++' beef to cook jangjorim.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.