TELEVISION AIRPLANE-HIJACKING THRILLER OF 'HOSTAGE FLIGHT'

Frank M. Benard and Kristina Wayborn in HOSTAGE FLIGHT Year: 1985 Rating: ****

The 1985 TV-Movie HOSTAGE FLIGHT is one of the better hijacking dramas, which includes theatrical features with the1970's All-Star-Cast device only here with actors and actresses mostly known for television, at that time... 

Except Ned Beatty as the man in charge on the ground (with gunman Morgan Paull at his beckon call), stressing on the situation in the air, filmed with a worthy amount of suspense and for very good reason... 

Kim Johnston Ulrich in HOSTAGE FLIGHT

The eclectic hijackers are an extremely mean and nasty group, pulling off the kind of knee-jerking, loud and brash attitudes to not only get the passengers' respect... from stalwart pilot Mitchell Ryan to photographer Dee Wallace who's befriended blonde beauty Kim Johnston Ulrich (and a couple other couples).... but to effectively stir up the right amount of suspense for the anticipation of who they'll kill next...

And their genuine ferociousness is a surprise, played by actors looking soap operatic yet proving otherwise, making the viewers loathe their existence to the point where, during the final act twist when the passengers get the gun-hand, you may not feel the empathy intended as an ambiguous morality tale instead of an airplane-in-peril exploitation.

Kim Johnston Ulrich in HOSTAGE FLIGHT with Dee Wallace

Mitchell Ryan in HOSTAGE FLIGHT

Morgan Paull in HOSTAGE FLIGHT

Mitchell Ryan in HOSTAGE FLIGHT with Frank Annsse

Frank M. Benard in HOSTAGE FLIGHT

Dee Wallace in HOSTAGE FLIGHT

From HOSTAGE FLIGHT