It's quite good, and hews fairly close to the actual historical events, so far as I'm aware of them.
Palestinian/German terrorists hijack an Air France plane, divert it to Entebbe, Uganda, release all those with non-Israeli passports, and keep the Jews hostage while demanding the release of fellow Palestinians now in jail. The deadline is about three days, after which the terrorists will start killing the hostages. But the Israelis quickly mount a rescue mission called "Operation Thunderbolt". Three cargo airplanes land at Entebbe airport and the Israeli strike force leaps out, shoots the terrorists, and rescues all but half a dozen or so of the hostage, some having been killed during combat.
I kept imagining what this neatly executed, straightforward, adventure/suspense drama would have been like if it had been a recently released fictional story. It would have been shot in high-contrast ghoulish green. The musical score would have been electronic percussion and would burst your basilar membranes. Each shot would be equal to, or less than, exactly one quarter of a second. The political decisions-making process would have been gotten out of the way pronto in order to make room for an Olympic swimming pool of blood and brains.
Of course this IS a dramatization, which means we have to put up with a certain number of requisite clichés. But I managed to grit my teeth through the few minutes of the sick little girl, the wizened but wise old lady, and the fainting pregnant woman. The trite elements were trumped by the rest of the story, which had some unexpectedly subtle touches.
In a minor-key scene I'm sure was meant to be amusing, Peter Finch, as the Prime Minister of Israel, announces to his dozen or so colleagues that Operation Thunderbolt is underway -- now! And a dozen disputatious Jews leap to their feet and begin shouting at one another while Finch tiredly removes his glasses and rubs his eyes. He's resigned to outlast the arguments.
Another notable moment. Jack Warden is demonstrating the landing to John Saxon using a model airplane and a model airstrip. When Warden plunks the wooden aircraft on the runway a wheel breaks off from the landing gear. A pause, then Warden tries fitting the tiny wheel back into place and failing. "It's only a model," remarks Saxon. "It could happen." And the camera holds for a tidy moment on Warden's face while the room fills with a voluminous tension.
The performances are all of professional caliber but one is the first among equals. And that would be Yaphet Koto, who seems to be having the time of his life playing the treacherous, snollygoster Idi Amin, President-for-Life of Uganda. He's all bodacious smiles for the camera, laughing, greeting everyone with "Shalom", pinching a child's cheek while the flash bulbs pop, trailing his willowy girl friend in tow, waving his hands gaily, showing off his medals and reciting his decorations, each time in a different uniform.
The historical reality might have been written as a movie script, so it's no surprise that several movies have dealt with the incident, not to count the documentaries. The good guys are clearly distinguished from the bad guys. The climax is an exciting commando raid in which only a few hostages die and all of the terrorists are eliminated by bullet. It even has a tragic hero. Stephen Macht as the ultra-likable Yonni Netanyahu, the leader of the combat team, shot and killed at the last moment. A modern movie would have the shooter shredded in a fusillade of outraged Israeli bullets but it doesn't happen here because it didn't happen there.
The bad guys are given short shrift. We may recognize Horst Bucholtz and the one who is a woman, but the rest are as faceless as the miscreants in a Dirty Harry movie. Bucholtz is given a smidgen of guilt but there is no doubt that they're terrorists practicing asymmetrical warfare. The name of Bucholtz's character means "evil" in German. If they were on our side they might be guerrillas or commandos or even freedom fighters. As it stands, their label is the proper one.
Palestinian/German terrorists hijack an Air France plane, divert it to Entebbe, Uganda, release all those with non-Israeli passports, and keep the Jews hostage while demanding the release of fellow Palestinians now in jail. The deadline is about three days, after which the terrorists will start killing the hostages. But the Israelis quickly mount a rescue mission called "Operation Thunderbolt". Three cargo airplanes land at Entebbe airport and the Israeli strike force leaps out, shoots the terrorists, and rescues all but half a dozen or so of the hostage, some having been killed during combat.
I kept imagining what this neatly executed, straightforward, adventure/suspense drama would have been like if it had been a recently released fictional story. It would have been shot in high-contrast ghoulish green. The musical score would have been electronic percussion and would burst your basilar membranes. Each shot would be equal to, or less than, exactly one quarter of a second. The political decisions-making process would have been gotten out of the way pronto in order to make room for an Olympic swimming pool of blood and brains.
Of course this IS a dramatization, which means we have to put up with a certain number of requisite clichés. But I managed to grit my teeth through the few minutes of the sick little girl, the wizened but wise old lady, and the fainting pregnant woman. The trite elements were trumped by the rest of the story, which had some unexpectedly subtle touches.
In a minor-key scene I'm sure was meant to be amusing, Peter Finch, as the Prime Minister of Israel, announces to his dozen or so colleagues that Operation Thunderbolt is underway -- now! And a dozen disputatious Jews leap to their feet and begin shouting at one another while Finch tiredly removes his glasses and rubs his eyes. He's resigned to outlast the arguments.
Another notable moment. Jack Warden is demonstrating the landing to John Saxon using a model airplane and a model airstrip. When Warden plunks the wooden aircraft on the runway a wheel breaks off from the landing gear. A pause, then Warden tries fitting the tiny wheel back into place and failing. "It's only a model," remarks Saxon. "It could happen." And the camera holds for a tidy moment on Warden's face while the room fills with a voluminous tension.
The performances are all of professional caliber but one is the first among equals. And that would be Yaphet Koto, who seems to be having the time of his life playing the treacherous, snollygoster Idi Amin, President-for-Life of Uganda. He's all bodacious smiles for the camera, laughing, greeting everyone with "Shalom", pinching a child's cheek while the flash bulbs pop, trailing his willowy girl friend in tow, waving his hands gaily, showing off his medals and reciting his decorations, each time in a different uniform.
The historical reality might have been written as a movie script, so it's no surprise that several movies have dealt with the incident, not to count the documentaries. The good guys are clearly distinguished from the bad guys. The climax is an exciting commando raid in which only a few hostages die and all of the terrorists are eliminated by bullet. It even has a tragic hero. Stephen Macht as the ultra-likable Yonni Netanyahu, the leader of the combat team, shot and killed at the last moment. A modern movie would have the shooter shredded in a fusillade of outraged Israeli bullets but it doesn't happen here because it didn't happen there.
The bad guys are given short shrift. We may recognize Horst Bucholtz and the one who is a woman, but the rest are as faceless as the miscreants in a Dirty Harry movie. Bucholtz is given a smidgen of guilt but there is no doubt that they're terrorists practicing asymmetrical warfare. The name of Bucholtz's character means "evil" in German. If they were on our side they might be guerrillas or commandos or even freedom fighters. As it stands, their label is the proper one.