97 Minutes (2023)

What makes 97 Minutes pop is its pure, high-concept urgency: a ticking-clock hijacking thriller that wastes no time getting you into the pressure cooker and keeping you there. Director Timo Vuorensola runs it like a lean machine, cutting between tense cabin chaos and hard-edged command-room brinkmanship so the suspense stays tight and the momentum rarely sags. Jonathan Rhys Meyers brings a coiled, volatile energy that keeps you guessing about motives, while Alec Baldwin adds a chilly authority to the moral math happening on the ground. It’s pulpy, blunt, and often brutal, so if you’re sensitive to intense violence or prefer subtle character drama, it may not be your flight—but if you want efficient, old-school genre thrills with a relentless pace, it delivers.

97 Minutes is clearly aiming for a real-time, ticking-clock hijack thriller with big moral stakes: do you sacrifice a plane to save lives on the ground, and can you trust the “inside man” onboard? The problem is that the execution rarely matches the urgency of the premise, with familiar twists, flat tension, and a concept that feels more talked about than fully lived minute-to-minute. Performances from recognizable faces add some weight, and the setup is efficient enough if you just want background-grade suspense and don’t mind rough edges. If you’re expecting a sharp, distinctive thriller or a truly nerve-wracking real-time experience, this one will likely feel generic and a bit undercooked—especially given the fairly brutal violence.