Watches
May 28, 2022
Masato Harada is a pretty big name (with an impressive oeuvre), the cast isn't anything to scoff at either. Just to say that I had high hopes for this film, but they never really materialized into something concrete. While this could've been a solid investigative thriller, it's really just an average newspaper drama.
JAL 123 crashes and kills 520 people, the biggest single-plane crash ever recorded. Yuuki is heading the newspaper team that handles the crash, but he finds it difficult to make the right decisions. He struggles with his reporters, doesn't want to jump the gun on any unverified sources and doesn't have an easy time at home.
The actors do a solid job, Harada tries to add a bit of flair to the film, but the crash remains well out of sight and most of the film is set in the offices of the paper. The sentiment doesn't translate that well and at almost two and a half hours long, the film's a bit long in the tooth. Not his best work.