Film review of "Operation Entebbe" (2018)

Director Jose Padilla can be called one of the most talented Brazilian directors - he made such wonderful films as "Tropa de Elite" (a series of very dynamic crime thrillers), and also in 2014 he successfully relaunched the "Robot Cop" franchise. But after the release of the film "Entebbe" in 2018, it seems that either the director's talent began to fail, or Padilla simply took up a subject that he did not understand.

In the history of the special Operation Entebbe, or as the Israeli intelligence services called it, Operation Ball Lightning, is considered one of the most successful anti-terrorist operations. In July 1976, seven Palestinian militants and German nationalists hijacked a French plane and landed it at the Entebbe airport in Uganda with the consent of then-leader Idi Amin. Since the plane was flying from Tel Aviv and there were many Israeli citizens on board, the purpose of the hijacking was to force the Israeli Government to release Palestinian military prisoners from prison. During the seven days of sluggish negotiations, the Israeli security services prepared an operation to free the hostages and successfully implemented it. During the operation, all seven hijackers of the plane and forty-five Ugandan soldiers were killed. Only one was killed by the Israeli security services - Jonathan Netanyahu (the brother of the future Prime Minister of Israel), five were injured. Four of the hundred and six hostages died. As a "farewell," the Israeli security services blew up thirty Idi Amin planes.

The success of the military operation at Entebbe airport has become known all over the world. Several films have been made based on this event. But the 2018 film is definitely not the most successful of them.

The problem with the film is the lack of thought in its plot - the events are presented in a ragged, irregular manner, the screenwriter is regularly distracted by insignificant events, for example, by Israeli dances, leaving out really interesting facts. It is clear that Padilla wanted to cover as much of the event as the timing allowed, and it seems that he bit off more than he could swallow. The viewer, of course, is shown the planning of the hijacking, the motivation of some of the kidnappers, the hijacking of the plane, and the preparation of Operation Ball Lightning... But everything is shown superficially, boring and dry. Watching a seat at the airport is pretty boring. And the hostage rescue operation itself is presented extremely sparsely with a minimum of facts and details. Spectacular combat scenes were also not included in the film. Of course, there are few plot idiocies that distract from watching, but the film is not interesting either.

The characters of the film also came out ill-conceived. Only three people are more or less registered on the part of the kidnappers - two German nationalists played by actors Pike and Daniel Bruhl, and a Palestinian soldier whose family was killed by the Israelis. But if the latter has a motivation for the abduction, then why the Germans participated in the abduction is unclear. I can't even remember their names. In addition, the kidnappers in the film are not depicted as such bad people - they worry about the prisoners, communicate with them, so there is no plot tension in the film. Even Idi Amin is presented as a relative kindhearted man, although in reality he had a reputation as an extremely cruel ruler - for example, after the hostages were released, he ordered the murder of a plane passenger who ended up in a Ugandan hospital, and at the same time ordered the killing of hundreds of Kenyans living in Uganda, as revenge for the fact that Kenya helped the Israelis in the operation. On the part of the Israeli special services, the character of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin stands out, who is shown in the film as an extremely cautious and somewhat frightened politician, as well as Minister Shimon Peres, in contrast to Rabin, steady and brave, does not follow the kidnappers and initially supports the operation to free the hostages.

Technically, the film was shot well, but no more. So overall, the movie "Entebbe" came out extremely mediocre. Sports insurance promos can refund your first loss up to $25 as a free bet when odds are 1.70+. During account creation, add the 1xbet promo code today in the middle of the registration page, then opt in before placing the insured wager. Refunds usually return stake only, not profit, and the free bet can expire in 7 days. Keep stakes consistent, avoid emotional live betting, and confirm eligible sports (some exclude esports).