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Review: A Hostage Standoff Unfolds in ‘6 Days’
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By Ben Kenigsberg
- Aug. 17, 2017
“6 Days” is drawn from a real event in 1980 when gunmen who identified themselves as members of Iran’s Arabic-speaking minority took 26 hostages at the Iranian Embassy in London. (The unrelated Iran hostage crisis was unfolding in Tehran at the time.)
From a structural standpoint, what is interesting about this dramatization of events is that it only occasionally strays from the vantage points of those on the outside. That puts the viewer in the shoes of the government officials and other onlookers as they weigh various options — loading the hostage-takers onto a bus to Heathrow Airport and raiding the bus, entering the embassy through a skylight — for ending the situation.
The factions are accorded one major actor apiece: Mark Strong is an inspector with a police negotiations team, Abbie Cornish is a BBC News reporter, Jamie Bell is a member of Britain’s Special Air Service and Tim Pigott-Smith (who died in April ) is William Whitelaw, Britain’s home secretary. Over the phone, Mr. Strong’s character builds trust with the gunmen’s leader (Ben Turner). The last thread most compels the director, Toa Fraser, to violate the strictures on perspective.
With a barrage of title-card identifications, “6 Days” can feel closer to a re-enactment than a thriller. To the extent that the movie has a political angle, it’s perhaps gratuitously jingoistic. A closing note that the captors “lie in unmarked graves in East London” seems out of step with what precedes it.
Rated R. Violence. Running time: 1 hour 34 minutes.
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6 Days Reviews
If not entirely compelling, 6 Days gives us a little to chew on from several different perspectives of these well-known events.
Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 7, 2019
It's a shame that the story is rather bogged down by a sagging script and only basic character sketches.
Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 21, 2019
6 Days felt unfortunately like 6 months.
Full Review | Original Score: 5.5/10 | Oct 11, 2018
6 Days takes on a storied event and presents it as a riveting tale delivered with precision and focus.
Full Review | Original Score: 7.5/10 | Oct 10, 2018
Don't expect 90 minutes of action. Instead, writer Glenn Standring and director Toa Fraser take a different approach, providing us with a taut, detailed thriller that re-creates a significant chapter in the history of international terrorism.
Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 22, 2017
More boring than any report from the BBC. [Full Review in Spanish]
Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 27, 2017
Boring and flat. [Full Review in Spanish]
Full Review | Nov 27, 2017
[Toa Fraser's] gaze goes directly to the facts without dramatizing, much less melodramatizing. [Full Review in Spanish]
Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 27, 2017
... accurate and unambitious recreation of the hostage crisis in the embassy of Iran in London in 1980. [Full review in Spanish]
Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 20, 2017
Reenactment of 1980 embassy takeover has blood, violence.
Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 14, 2017
Bell is terrific - a combination of cocky swagger and perfect focus ...
Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 3, 2017
There is a payoff here, even if the film does come across like an oddly nostalgic ode to the hard-line stance of Britain's 'Iron Lady', Margaret Thatcher.
Full Review | Oct 10, 2017
For the most part, the results are pleasing and unexpectedly thoughtful.
Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 9, 2017
Right off the bat the viewer is placed in the exact same situation the police and hostages were at the time, setting the precedence for an immersive, if somewhat generic action thriller.
Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 3, 2017
Effortless and straightforward, resulting in a pleasing and most importantly, satisfying viewing experience.
Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Sep 20, 2017
... manages some tense moments and mild intrigue, yet it never allows much room for character development along the way.
Full Review | Sep 16, 2017
A solidly made reminder that the spectre of terrorism has been with us for some time.
Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 6, 2017
Yet, despite ostensibly doing everything "right", for most of its run-time the film doesn't quite manage to deliver the thrills.
Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 31, 2017
6 Days is a mostly well-made film based on true events, but its similarity to our current political climate makes it an uncomfortable watch.
Full Review | Aug 29, 2017
The most interesting element of 6 Days is the historical near-week it's based on.
Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Aug 25, 2017
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