3 Star

Terror in the Stratosphere.

Actor/writer Pavan Grover (Pavan Grover, Lakeeran the Destiny) brings us a disaster movie at 35,000 ft. But 97 Minutes is not your run-of-the-mill disaster movie, as it comes with a few twists and turns within the fuselage of a 767. Directed by Timo Vuorensola (Iron Sky, Iron Sky: The Coming Race) who keeps a tight grip on the action in the confines of a packed passenger jet.

After leaving Heathrow, Oceanic Airlines flight 420 is 1100 miles from the East coast of the USA, and it has ninety-seven minutes of fuel left onboard. When suddenly, a man in black stands up, Anan (Pavan Grover), who pulls out a 3D printed pistol, and shoots a hostess dead. In moments, the Air Marshal is dead, and the terrorists have command of the cockpit.

At the National Security Agency, a call from undercover agent ‘Steak Knife’ has alerted them to the situation on flight 420, but chief Toyin (Jo Martin, Batman Begins, Doctor Who (TV Series)) and her tech guy Asghar (Michael Sirow, Fortress, Fortress: Sniper’s Eye) have lost contact, however they know that there are five terrorists. When Director Hawkins (Alec Baldwin, Supercell, The Departed) arrives, he is not a happy man, as he knows that the failsafe has been disabled, so they cannot get the plane to land at a safe airport. But he doesn’t know of the asset.

On board 420 Alex (Jonathan Rhys Meyers, The 12th Man, Dangerous Game: The Legacy Murders) comes-to and spots the satellite earpiece. He gets it back and puts it on, as he hears the call sign and confirms the situation, before sticking it in his pocket, so that it is not seen by the terrorists. He finds that the pilot is badly injured, so he tries to find a medical kit, and in doing so he comes across fellow passenger Hitar (Anjul Nigam, Grey’s Anatomy (TV Series), Bad Words) who he tasks with finding a passenger with a medical background. That person is Kim (MyAnna Buring, The Descent, Kill List), a nervous woman, but she calms down when he tells her that he is an Interpol undercover agent infiltrating the terrorist cell.

Hawkins wants things done by the book and scrambles three F22s, to take flight 420 out. But Toyin and Asghar believe that they can get the asset to save the day. So they start their own rescue plan, using the satellite link to transmit morse code.

Now some innocent people are going to die, so that more innocent people will live.

With fuel running out, five terrorists hell-bent on mass destruction and a Director that wants to destroy a passenger plane, what could possibly go wrong? Well, sit on the edge of your seat and watch this action packed twisty Thriller.

97 Minutes is available on Digital