Rent Entebbe (2018)

Tense thriller marred by silly ending - Entebbe review by Alphaville

It’s 1976 and a group of Palestinian and German terrorists hijack a plane carrying Israelis and land it in Uganda. Even if you know the ending of this thriller based on true events, it’s still tense stuff. We see events mostly from the point of view of the hijackers, which makes it somewhat biased. There are scenes set in Israel, added at a later stage of script development to try and redress the balance, but they mostly concern politicking and rescue planning. The hijackers are the film’s emotional heart and the thrust of the film is anti-capitalist and anti-Zionist.

It’s well acted and directed but, as well as the bias, there are some ruinous flaws. Several flashbacks to the hijack’s planning slow the pace and contribute no information that couldn’t have been slotted into the present. But worst of all, the rescue attack by Israeli soldiers, to which the plot has been building, is intercut with scenes of an Israeli dance troupe performing on stage. It’s supposed to be a metaphor but it turns the otherwise tense attack into a laughing matter.

Entebbe - a film of some promise that left me wanting... - Entebbe review by Rod

Yes, a grimly [and indeed grimy] suspenseful build-up that gave a compelling atmosphere of the initial events and the fears of the hostages... the Israeli cabinet meetings were realistic and no doubt just as smoke-filled as in the film. Eddie Marsan played Shimon Peres in a suitably dry, philosophical way that made me smile. But the film seemed to run out of steam in the crucial stages of the flight to Uganda and the fleeting skirmishes on the ground. This all left me rather underwhelmed. And while there was some good characterisation of the German terrorists, there was a lack of an equivalent story for any of the hostages (maybe some, but not enough on balance). And don't ask me why the modern dance sequences were included !! Maybe the director thought this was worthy art-house stuff, but with interruption of the plot, it was downright irritating!!

balanced but whats with the ending? - Entebbe review by JD

While pretty dull overall, i liked the balance in the story. From the naive german pair, the extreme but badly hurt Palestinian terrorists to the blood thirsty Israelis defending themselves with a leader who desperately wanted to resolve the whole conflict once and for all in a peaceful manor.

The film is likely most remembered for its ending however. Regardless of your view on Israel the entebbe mission is a classic, and it was pretty much skipped and replaced with a peculiar dance scene (really!) To me it looked like the director was either scared of failing in reproducing the action or felt dancing instead of shooting might win them a gong at the Caan festival......

Ruined By The Portrayal Of The Raid - Entebbe review by KM

This film was a huge let down because of the way it portrayed the actual raid, the most important part of the film was a disjointed mess because of the totally unnecessary interaction with a dance sequence which totally destroyed the tension. The original film was far better as it concentrated on showing the raid properly.

Pretty Tame - Entebbe review by RK

I would agree with the most recent reviewers - watch the original. This lacked tension and I could not see the point of including the dancers.

More accurate than the three earlier versions, but flawed and incomplete - Entebbe review by KS

I watched this after reading Saul David's excellent book, Operation Thunderbolt, which was based on official documents and records and interviews with the participants and survivors, including one former member of the German terrorist group, who wasn't involved in the hijack.

It filled in some of the gaps in the three films that were made in '76 or '77, very shortly after the event, which apparently had a lot of artistic licence.

The book's 'afterword' mentioned discussions of a possible film version. I assume this effort was the final result.

I agree with other reviewers about the dance sequences - annoying and irrelevant, especially when intercut with the battle scenes at the end.

The end credits listed the names of the four hostages and one Israeli commando who died.

But there was no mention of how three hostages were caught in the cross-fire and died immediately, or later from their wounds, which was described in the book.

Nor was there any mention of why Mrs Dora Bloch was sent to hospital the day before the raid, and afterwards was abducted and murdered by Amin's thugs on his orders.

Nor was there any reference to the rescue planes landing in Kenya afterwards, to refuel and rush the badly wounded to Kenyan hospitals - for which, in reprisal, Amin mudered several hundred Kenyans who were living in Uganda, and expelled the rest.

Overall, this film may have been more close to the 'true' events than the three earlier versions mentioned - for example, the scene where Bose showed kindness to a hysterical elderly female hostage by taking her outside and calmed her by sitting and comforting her, and talking for two hours, which was described in the book by another hostage.

But the whole thing could still have been done much better, starting with losing the dancers.

Dance of the Mad - Entebbe review by RB

This was an outstanding film until the ridiculous and inappropriate dance sequence that ran over the raid scene. A good movies spoiled.