StuOz A passenger plane is skyjacked.If Chuck Heston were not in this, you might confuse Skyjacked as a TV movie rather than a feature. But yes, it is a feature film.The great acting from the whole cast makes this movie a must-see.The first 50 minutes is filled with suspense as we are never totally sure who the bad guy is, but once the cat is out of the bag, the film is a bit routine.The movie would have been better if the plane remained in the air for the whole flick, once we are on the ground the danger element is lowered.Airport (1970) was like this film in a few ways but that movie had a powerful music score playing over it, the Skyjacked score is so low- key you don't even notice it.

Scott LeBrun "Skyjacked" tells the story of a commercial flight, captained by the steadfast Hank O'Hara (Charlton Heston) to Minneapolis-St. Paul. However, one of the passengers will demand that they reroute to Anchorage, threatening to blow up a bomb that they've brought on board. People on the ground and on the flight do everything they can to ensure a safe trip, even as the plane must travel through (you guessed it) stormy weather.I'll actually refrain from mentioning who the antagonist is, although I will say that it becomes too readily apparent too soon. Still, this early entry in the 1970s cycle of all-star disaster films offers reasonable entertainment. Director John Guillermin ("King Kong" '76, "The Towering Inferno") keeps things sufficiently tense, and sometimes amusing, and elicits mostly solid performances from his cast of veterans and then-newcomers. Photography, music, and action sequences are all impressively done.The rogues gallery of characters is rather standard for this sort of thing. Football legend Roosevelt Grier comes off the best as an upbeat, engaging jazz cellist. Lots of familiar faces, and some very lovely ladies: Yvette Mimieux is formidable as the strong willed head stewardess, and Susan Dey makes her film debut as a hippie type made to look suspicious by flying first class. Some performers don't get to do too much, but Walter Pidgeon, one of my favorite actors, is typically delightful as an old senator.You kind of have to put your brain in neutral for this one, but at least it isn't boring.Seven out of 10.

Michael_Elliott Skyjacked (1972) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Captain O'Hara (Charlton Heston) is on your typical flight when someone notices a bomb threat has been written on a mirror inside the bathroom. The pilot decides to follow the wishes of the unknown bomber and head the plane towards Alaska but soon the bomber identifies himself as a former soldier (James Brolin) who wants revenge against his country who he feels let him down.SKYJACKED is a fairly entertaining entry in the disaster genre, although there's no question that it doesn't really stand above the countless others out there. It's an interesting movie because it came slightly after AIRPORT, which was about a plane full of people with a bomber on board and it was a few years before AIRPORT 1975, which featured Heston and a plane that gets hit by another. There's a subplot here where the large plane comes close to colliding with a smaller one so all three films certainly share a lot of similarities.For the most part this is an entertaining film, although I think it goes on a tad bit too far and takes a little too long in getting going. It's pretty obvious from the word go who the bomber is going to be but the film tries to milk it as a mystery. This works for a little while but there comes a point where it's obvious yet the film still tries to milk the mystery. The finale of the film also manages to be a letdown but I'm going to avoid spoilers so I won't ruin it for those who haven't seen it. The film could have ended in countless ways but what's here wasn't all that entertaining or fulfilling. I haven't read the novel that the film is based on so I'm not sure if it's the same. Another problem with the film are some extremely silly and melodramatic flashback sequences that really kills whatever drama the film has built up.There are some fun performances here including Heston who plays it rather straight and serious. He's certainly good in the film and even Brolin comes across good in his psychotic role. He's actually much better here than he would be in THE AMITYVILLE HORROR, another picture that required him to play crazy. The supporting cast includes nice performances from Yvette Mimieux, Claude Atkins, Jeanne Crain and Roosevelt Grier who steals the film with his fun natured performance.SKYJACKED features some very good cinematography and the action scenes contain a decent amount of drama but there's no doubt that this falls well short of being among the genre's best films. If you like disaster movies it's certainly worth watching but only after you've seen some of the better options in the genre.

SimonJack If the Internet and IMDb had been around in 1972, I wonder what the rating for "Skyjacked" would have been then, and what it would be now. It surely would have been much higher than the 5.6 average it has from 1,100 viewers at the date of my review here. The first hijacking of an airplane in the U.S. occurred May 1, 1961, and that is when it first was called a "skyjacking." Before then, there had been a sporadic number of escape attempts that involved commandeering aircraft, mostly military. Those were in Eastern Europe and South America. But after this event in the U.S., skyjacking increased significantly. By the time this film was made, skyjacking had become a household word. There had been several incidents in the U.S. Most of them had been one of two types – a ransom hold-up of an aircraft to obtain money, or a commandeering of an aircraft to fly somewhere for political asylum. Cuba was the choice for most "political" refugees. The movie is based on a novel by David Harper."Skyjacked" is the very first film about skyjacking and it began a new sub-genre. Air disaster films also were popular by then, and they continued through the 1970s with a few each decade thereafter. But, not many more skyjacking movies were made until the rash of films in the 1990s. Those were after widespread airport and aircraft security measures had been instituted, and these were more of the action- adventure thrillers that involved complicated takeovers by sizable groups. I think the first film of any consequence about a terrorist skyjacking was just two years after this one. Sean Connery starred in "The Terrorists," in 1974. At the time "Skyjacked" came out the culture of travel was much different than it is today. There were no long lines for people to go through scanners, metal detectors, and personal and baggage checks. Another reviewer noted that flying in those days was much like catching trains had been for decades. One went to a window to buy or pick up a ticket, waited for a boarding call, and then filed through a door to board a plane. Family members and friends could sit in the waiting area until one took off. A fond memory I have about flying in those days was arriving home and having my wife and children meet me when I walked out of the gate door. I always asked a stewardess for extra peanut packets so I could give one to each of my children. It became a sort of family tradition for years and the kids always looked forward to it. Sadly, none of my adult children today, or anyone else, can have that same experience when they travel by air. "Skyjacked" gives a realistic look at the time and how airline crews came to handle skyjackings. Charleton Heston does an excellent job in his role as Captain Hank O'Hara. The rest of his cockpit crew are excellent as well. Other roles are played well, but I agree with a couple of other reviewers about the romantic past of O'Hara and chief stewardess Angela Thatcher, played by Yvette Mimieux. It's more of a distraction, and thankfully it doesn't take up too much of the film's time. But I dock the film one star for its inclusion. It doesn't fit the script and isn't needed. Hollywood moguls thought there always had to be a romantic interest of the stars. Incidentally, female cabin assistants or flight attendants then were called stewardesses, and males were called stewards. This is a very good film with a realistic look at the time and the behaviors of flight crews and first concern for their passengers. The only other faults I find with the film are two actions by O'Hara. This is likely the fault of the writers and/or director. Even with no security or scanning system in place, the captain made one mistake early. He didn't ask to see Sgt. Weber's (played by James Brolin) military orders. Since this was a request for the captain to waive normal procedures, he should have taken the extra precaution to be sure the sergeant had orders showing him on family or hardship leave, or on regular leave. Especially since O'Hara had been a colonel in the Air Force (it's in the movie), that should have been an automatic reaction. The second was toward the end. When the captain had the opportunity to leave the aircraft after everyone else was off, he should have done so. The extra heroics of hiding and trying to take Weber down himself were wrong and uncalled for. No one else was in danger. All the passengers and crew were safely off the plane. The responsibility of the captain at that point was to save himself. Some reviewers referred to this film as clichéd. Without examples, one can't know what they refer to. But, since it is the first film on skyjacking, and a very early one in general about havoc in air travel, the phrases and terms used here were mostly new and original at that time. They've only become clichés by overuse since then. It helps to better appreciate these films by viewing them through the lens of history, especially when the matters of time, place and culture are relevant. I highly recommend this film. It is an excellent look at air travel for its time. And, it's an excellent portrayal of the air travel industry and how its personnel handle crises.