Emergency Declaration (2022)

Brace Your Flight to Avert Catastrophe

Personal Note before Review: I have reassembled my thoughts before pouring mine out due to being influenced to look at letterboxd's reviews (before the official release, because they watch pre-screen from Cannes Award last year), then my mind goes screwed all over then messed all up like *rant-rage mode activated* so I prefer to opinize mine rather than hearing their thoughts instead

TL;DR: What if you already plan to take a vacation abroad, but when it comes to an emergency situation; you've come unprepared beforehand? What if you have zero knowledge of what's going on up there, but decide to side with the fault before reading the room? That's basically what happened during this watch of its announcement theme. You'll never know what's up or below, sky or land, just to resolve a calamity

I have come up with its pros and cons, but most cons are from their perspectives and my assumptions (which doesn't mean that's their overall thoughts. It's just a theory)

PROS:

It's Not That You Instead of Delving into This Story But Must IMMERSE Their Experience
There is a reason why I should encourage you to use the upgrade cinema feature (4DX or Screen X if you afford it): this one. As you can see from all trailers, you need to experience how it feels to fly through the horizon, while encountering the crisis itself. It slowly starts from the usual atmosphere on land, then before departure, then all... all combined into one while knowing their solving to each problem

Every Main Lead Nailed Their Tasks. Period
Nothing goes unresolved in this film. They made a great job settling down every precise detail of its roots. From solving cases to ongoing aviation crisis, which is why I really love this development so much that I want to rewatch it all over again. I have no queasy feeling for this film for the first time I ever had, which is funny coming from myself, who dislike marathons such mediums

It Will Leave You Emotional Depending on The Circumstances
General to personal, for some main leads' stories. Leaves you wondering why, but you found the answer throughout the film. Can't say it's unpredictable, but all I can say is unexpected

A Reality-Check Eventhough It's Fiction
But I believe this director collect/researched all investigation cases, especially major ones into this remarkable movie. Sad to say that this is not from the true event, but he leaves wonderful, inspirational traces behind, even after his previous creations. Salute

Now, to its CONS:

Longer Movie Duration
I realized that some of the watchers I observed during that, are dozing off; and bigger 'alarms' (you'll see why) woke them up. I don't think this one is a part of the weakness for this film because I find it overall enthusiastic (yet also wondering how some can endure watching not instead of 2+ hours, even from web movies like 4+ or maximum 8 hours?)

Political Issues Included, Hence Biased Favor of Its Propaganda
Yes.... this one, is pretty much undeniable, and I see the pattern there. I mean, not willing to take any risks from certain countries, hence being one-sided and all. I don't want to be specific on which country, but you'll see, again, why

Regardless of any endings they made: happy, sad, or open-endings, I'd still rate this 10 anyways, because they have portrayed everything beautifully, and made it a Hollywood-esque level of VFX, cinematography... even its storyline, too. I've been more than glad despite its 2-year delay, it's the most worth watching; therefore the best Korean movie I ever watched so far

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Gigantic suspense through skies and clouds

The scale of this movie is so gigantic you wouldn't be able to imagine how they were able to build a story development in such an impressive way. The suspense just keeps on rising like climbing through skies and clouds, accompanied by best of class soundtrack that heightens every stakes. The airborne action scenes are of course groundbreaking, but what's more surprising is the depth of its story is so powerful, it's equipped with a lot of factors on a global level, especially in the latter half of the movie it puts human principles into test, spanning across every possible behaviors when they're pushed to their limits. Given its constructive ending, even how ugly humanity is sometimes, they're suggesting a glimpse of hope that we all deserve during a catastrophic situation we faced everyday.

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A Slightly Bumpy Ride

TL;DR: This isn't a perfect movie. But you can easily overlook the questionable bits thanks to how well made it is. It's a great way to spend a couple of hours. It's what any film should aspire to be - entertaining. Just make sure you don't have a flight booked anytime soon!

The first 2/3s of this movie was great. Fast paced, thrilling and suspenseful action. However the last third of the movie was a bit over the top, with the story going into more of a melodrama territory.

Acting was great all around. Im Siwan especially was really, really good. Kim So Jin and Kim Nam Gil were also great.

The production value was top notch. The cinematography and sound design were really incredible. It really helped make the stakes seem a lot higher. It had that realism that I find lacking from a lot of Western movies (especially nowadays with heavy reliance on CGI). I'm sure CGI was used here too - but it was so seamless.

Overall, a really fun flick and a good theatre experience (I don't think this will have the same impact if you just watch it at home, especially because of the sound). Just go in and switch off your brain (really, don't think too much). You'll have fun!

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too soon... but not really?

i'd be guilty if i say that the reason this movie caught my eye was because im si wan is in it. after seeing countless of tiktoks about this movie, i just knew i had to give this a go.

boi, did i not make a mistake giving this movie a chance. the buildup to the suspense and thriller part of the movie was INSANE. at some point, i was thinking this will focus on being a psychological thriller because the villain had me HOOKED. however, an hour in to the movie, the pace was aiming for an emotional tone and it was then i realised, "oh shit, this situation hits far too close to reality i'd be delusional to deny"

in a messed up situation wherein people are in danger, there are those who have their survival instincts kick in intensely. looking at how our own world is in shambles with so many problems going on, this movie dives deep into a pandemic situation and shows how there is still humanity present. although it was heart-wrenching to see the people in the plane interact with their families, i personally wasn't a fan of the pacing from absolute thriller to this almost makjang feel.

one thing i wasn't sold was how quickly things got wrapped up. in my opinion, the ending was rushed. it wasn't even shown whether the main characters got to see their family when emotional buildup was there for them. however, all in all, this movie did well to keep me focused, barely leaving my seat despite my wifi making me watch this for more than two hours.

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A precautionary tale for possible bioterrorism, but a mindless one

A bluish, hazy lens flare focuses to a young man inquiring about a flight that would have the most passengers in the busy Incheon airport on a busy summer day was not the strongest opening for a disaster movie. Yes, one might be curious for that young man's intentions, but the camerawork obstructed me from focusing on the screen. Instead, I just couldn't wait for a normal camera angle and coloring.

However, it redeemed itself with the succeeding scenes once the lens toned down. The tension about the apparent "attack" is now building up as the said young man is now trying to pull out the trigger for a what seems to be a bio terror attack on a plane bound for Honolulu. Also, the passengers of said plane whom he would victimize are now being introduced on the screen. I felt pity towards them being innocent on what would happen next, but at the same time, I couldn't take it much seriously knowing that there were also teenagers aboard wearing their uniforms on their way to vacation.

This disaster movie, as with most disasters, is divided into 2 parts: the 1st half talks about the disaster itself and its victims; and the 2nd half is about the consequences of that disaster to its victims, and the society to an extent.

The 1st half was purely genius in terms of balancing grit, suspense, and thrill. The outcome was already predictable, yet it felt that it was not. Im Si-wan's portrayal as the young man mentioned earlier named Ryu Jin-seok was absolutely terrific in terms of characterization. He really was fit for the role of an innocent-looking yet dangerous and narcissistic terrorist, and he was able to convey the necessary emotions well. Also, the plane attack in itself was brilliant in terms of how carefully-planned it was. The pacing from the first scene at the airport towards the attack itself was spot on, if not top notch. The attack though, felt too abrupt when it was done, and I was wanting for more intense scenes.

Meanwhile, the 2nd half now focused on the consequences of said bio terror attack and how the passengers and air crew dealt with it. It had the same pandemonic vibes as "Train to Busan", but unfortunately, this movie took the story potential for the worse. It attempted to compress several actions into one big story which dragged the movie's run time. The events that occured post-attack felt too emotional and illogical, even for the basic movie viewer like me. It seemed that there was a different approach for the direction, but ultimately turned out to be unnecessary.

The movie could have been more impactful had it been more explicitly tragedic. A sad outcome based on the events of the attack and its consequences to all of the plane's passengers and crew would have been more logical and acceptable. The "vague" ending in itself felt safe to be open for interpretation. As the credits rolled, my first thought was that this movie wasted immense potential and that it could've reached the same critical response as "Train to Busan" or even beyond, but it did not.

On the other hand, I have to commend the well-shot scenes inside the plane. The movie showed different angles and perspectives of the plane on air, and added tension to the impending disaster. Korean disaster movies are really world-class in terms of showcasing the disaster itself and really convinces the viewer with its great camera work aside from the mentioned earlier.

비상선언 (Emergency Declaration) overall was like the air turbulence shown in the movie, it was bumpy. It tried to incorporate several genres within a disaster movie, but it was not successful in doing so. It wasn't able to maintain the amount of thrill and suspense it had at the first half, but was still able to portray action thanks to its talented star-studded cast, despite some ending up being under utilized.

In the end, this movie served its purpose - to be a precautionary tale for possible bioterrorism, but a mindless one.

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A lot of potential, over the top execution, full of cliches...

This film had every potential to be interesting and suspenseful one mainly due to its main concept idea. Unfortunately it failed to engage me due to its over the top production and the countless cliches that we have already watch them multiple times in other disaster movies.

Spoilers below.

The idea of a biological terror attack during a flight has not been that much used ( the only other movie that had a similar concept was 12 Monkeys).
But unfortunately the director gave more attention to the "poor_passengers _who_ were infected_ and _are _in_ danger_ because_ the_ plane_ is_ not_ allowed_ to_ land _anywhere_ and_ the_ only_ one_ who_ can_ land_ it_ has _psychological_ problems", instead of focusing mainly on the ground operations, f.e how and why the company got the virus, how the terrorist ended up to be so revengeful, to emphasize in other words what was going on on the ground before and after the attack, instead of what was going on in the air that was the simplest and most boring concept of all as it was expected.. In other words to make the movie a bio hazard political thriller with social parameters instead of just a disaster one.

The cast and the acting was really good, the music was in some scenes over the top and loud and the production was great as always, but went in vain because it is not interesting to watch that all the passengers got eventually infected by a virus. The twist would have been to not get infected after all!

Anyway.. 6 out of 10 from me for the very good production.
The plot was one of the same.. Air flight disaster adventure vol. 9.387.938.775!
Same old stuff, same old story.

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Just Superb!

One of the Best Stories in Aviation history of Cinema
gotta give it to the writer for a wonderful script.

Rarely very rarely I would give a movie almost perfect 10
it's just that good

Story
Writer Han Jae Rim, outdid his self in this movie, he will not believe it in the future that writing of this script is going to be one of his top 5, introduction of characters, plot, climax, that's it, no other sideline stories needed.

Acting/Cast
one thing that missed it for a perfect 10 is the scene in Bricom, no executive of a company will comedown and argue with the police about warrants., aside from this sole scene its very great acting from a powerful cast

Music
BGM fits the and timingly appropriate for each scenes
this is how you insert BGM to each scenes and cuts of the timeline

Rewatch
Yes, there is very rare good aviation movie out there, SULLY is one, aside from that,
can't think of another one that will keep me in the edge of my seat being curious on the next scene

Overall
Watch it with popcorns and plenty of water, trust, you don't want to miss any scene
easlily and highly recommended movie. I think cannes is good in nominating this movie

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Emergency Declaration (2022)

I watched a youtube video where they said it took 3 years to write the script and it's amazing how the actions of the passengers are very similar to what has been happening with the current pandemic.

This movie is about a terrorist attack on a plane bound for Honolulu. Because of the circumstances, the plane is not able to make a landing in various cities and the passengers and officers have to make a choice.

Another disaster movie that appeals to our humanity. The stories of each passengers are nothing new, but focused more on family. I think I probably would have made the same decision if I were on the plane.

Rating: 8.5/10

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It's thrilling enough

I'm just an average moviegoer and I saw this with English subtitles. I can't understand Korean, and English subtitles always take away something from the movie. The experience is not as organic and it's hard to concentrate when your attention is divided between reading text and watching the scenes. With that said, let me share what I thought of the movie after watching it for the first time. The movie made me uncomfortable as it should be. The amount of tension and suspense on the screen until the midpoint is just sublime. As a disaster flick, it didn't really immerse me in the sense of danger and fear. I'm not fond of the route that the movie took to reach its ending. It didn't leave an impression. What I do love about this movie is the main cast. I admired their works for years. I wish the role of Im Si-wan was extended because I can't get enough of him.

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Pretty good movie with a happy ending

I think the plot was good and the acting too. It didn’t feel this long and the ending was good, I wasn’t expecting a happy ending.

Damn, the love that sergent has for his wife, that was pretty intense him injecting himself with the virus. I was relieved he lived.

It was heartbreaking when they decided not to land and to die to not infect their families and the population. That was moving. I was tearing up when we saw the passenger saying goodbye to their families and the speech.

It was infuriating to see that company who didn’t want to get involved and talk when the virus came from their facility and they had the antivirus.

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train to busan but on a plane?

Emergency Declaration is part political thriller and part disaster film, both of which are done good enough. Essentially it took it's time before moving into our main plot, which is good because it became easier seeing the different circumstances of our leads.

People in my local theater are either the most emotionless people in the world or weren't actually watching, I was jumping out my sit on the suspense scenes and crying on the sad ones.

It's a show of the human nature, how we react to situations that are life or death, and where true humanity stands out, that there are people out there willing to sacrifice themselves in the face of death. also how we should appreciate our loved ones, one moment they might be there but can be gone in an instant, we should make every moment count.

there's a whole bunch of political nonsense throughout that cuts off the suspense at times, especially prominent in the latter half of the film. it was good when we we're looking for where to land, desires of each country fighting but too much off it had me almost asleep.

this film when does good it's extremely good, but also when it does bad it's extremely bad.

This was an extremely stacked cast lineup with veterans Song Kang Ho and Lee Byung Hun to top stars Kim Nam Gil and Park Hae Joon, however nobody delivered a better performance than Im SIwan, more on this later.

(MINOR SPOILERS)
The film was a mirror of the COVID19 pandemic we are experiencing took to another, extreme level. it reflects how in the early stages, people that tested positive are divided and shunned by the mass, even blaming an entire race or continent for it, these moral ambiguities we're heavily present here.

Killing off our main antagonist less than half way into the film was gutsy but In a way made sense, but that extra angst knowing he'd still be alive along with the commotion in the latter half would have made this a much more suspenseful ride. despite the limited screen time and getting killed off, Im Siwan in his villain role was crazy good and terrifying, add that to his lovely features, it made the character soooo creepy.

Ending for me felt force and gave twists just for the sake for it, my tears during the farewell scenes felt like I was robbed off it and that cliche ending was the culprit.

(END OF SPOILER)


unfortunate how this ended so weak, could have easily been the best 2022 korean film. to answer my headline, though it has quite the similarities, I personally think the thrill and suspense of the 2 films are from different sources.

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