A Hijacking

2012 [DANISH]

Action / Drama / Thriller

10
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 76% · 110 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 76% · 10K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.1/10 10 17970 18K

cook denmark psychology hijacking murder pirate

Plot summary

Tensions are high after a Danish freighter is captured and held for ransom by Somali pirates, leading to weeks of high-stakes negotiations – and an escalating potential for explosive violence.

Director

Tobias Lindholm Photo
Tobias Lindholm

Top cast

Pilou Asbæk Photo
Pilou Asbæk as Mikkel Hartmann
Dar Salim Photo
Dar Salim as Lars Vestergaard
Søren Malling Photo
Søren Malling as Peter C. Ludvigsen
Roland Møller Photo
Roland Møller as Jan Sørensen
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
921.09 MB
1280*720
Danish 2.0
NR
Subtitles da  
24 fps
1 hr 40 min
Seeds 1
1.85 GB
1920*1080
Danish 5.1
NR
Subtitles da  
24 fps
1 hr 40 min
Seeds 4

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by allenrogerj 7 / 10

Taut and realistic

Reviewed by evanston_dad 8 / 10

Why You Shouldn't Bargain with Pirates

Who knew that Somali pirates would provide such rich subject matter for filmmakers in 2013? "A Hijacking" will invariably be compared to "Captain Phillips" if for no other reason than it came out in the same year and is about a cargo ship being hijacked by Somali pirates. But they're two very different movies about two different scenarios, so I'm not sure comparing them makes much sense. However, if absolutely forced to choose, I think I would pick "A Hijacking" as the film I enjoyed more."Captain Phillips" is all about the logistics of stalling to allow time for military intervention. It's at heart a straightforward action movie, with some emotional resonance late in the film to give it some ballast. "A Hijacking" is more about the emotional and psychological toll the situation takes on the film's key players, namely the cook, Mikkel, one of the hostages on board the ship, and Peter, the CEO of the company that owns the ship, on land. Peter is determined to handle the situation himself, despite warnings from the hostage negotiator not to get involved. It will get too messy and emotional, he's told, which ends up being true, and which takes a severe psychological toll on him. The same is true for the crew, Mikkel included, who must live as hostages for months never sure from one moment to the next whether or not they will survive.The company's response to the hostage crisis is baffling to American viewers. Where in the world is the presence of any kind of military authority? Why on earth would Denmark sanction this kind of bargaining with pirates? It only encourages them to repeat their behavior. The film is comical in a morbid kind of way -- by the end, the CEO and the contact man for the pirates are exchanging faxes to negotiate an agreed upon ransom while the men on the boat rot. For all of the criticism it takes for its military bluster, it's hard to argue that the American way of dealing with such a situation isn't the better one.A tense, finely-acted movie that, because of an incident that occurs very late in the film, may just take the wind out of you.Grade: A
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