Review: Emergency Declaration
When during the flight process does that first tingle of unease sets in? Is it when you look at the strangers in line that will soon be sharing the same space as you? When the lights blink on to put on your seat belt? The first rumble of turbulence? Or may there is no uneasiness at all as flying a plane is as routine as sitting in traffic on the 405.
Emergency Declaration snaps that complacency to dust or amplifies that unease tenfold. With a questionable happy ending.
"Just hold out a bit longer,
I'm working on a solution here."
SONG Kang-ho as In-ho - The veteran police detective working on his own to avert disaster
Traveling by plane already induces the highest level of stress. The news feed is full of passenger outbursts or violent tantrums on airplanes every day. Stress is understandable but everyone wants to get on that plane and get to their destination quickly and safely as possible. So how are these outbursts helping anyone or the process? It's not. Not even remotely helpful.
Travelers place their trust in the airlines and the crew to get there safely. There are typical fears and concerns that everyone holds inside when they get on the plane. Most can’t help playing a downward spiral of what if scenarios in their mind. During those scenarios, what would they be able to do to ensure their survival?
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If an aircraft faces a potential disaster, and the pilot determines that normal flight can no longer be maintained, an ‘Emergency Declaration’ is issued to call for an unconditional landing.”
Emergency Declaration takes a a good heaping of those ‘what-if’ scenarios mixed with some sharply tense drama all within the suffocating confines of a passenger plane. It was the most enthralling dramatic disaster movie that would make you stop asking “it can’t get any worse than that!” before it even finished second act.
The movie centers around a bio-terrorist attack on Flight no. KI50. An attach that derails the passengers excitement of heading to Hawaii from South Korea into how quickly society can disintegrate with in 48 hours.
As we watch the passengers converge at the airport, we see a glimpse of the lives they are coming from. A father looking for fresh air in Hawaii to calm his daughters eczema. Groups of friends looking forward to a vacation on another island miles away. All strangers with their own lives looking forward to the same goal: get to Hawaii safely. It just took one person to start unraveling but it didn’t make much for society to lose their mind. The chaos is not just within the confines of the plane.
“Which flight will have the most people on it?”
YIM Si-wan as Jin-seok - The man who comes to the airport with no fixed destination
While everyone is going about their lives before the flight, an awkward man named Jin-Seok (played by YIM Si-Wan) has made it his plan to randomly choose Flight no. KI50 to unleash virulent hell upon everyone on board. Once the first victim goes down, the events began to spiral out of hand as fear and survival mode kicks in. Outside the plane, governmental forces play a tug of war with the fate of plane as debates of saving a few versus the safety of all rages on.
All of this sounds so familiar does it? Anyone watching this after 2020 will grimly be reminded of the universal upheaval and rising fear from the early days of COVID. Now here’s the punchline: Emergency Declaration was filmed and produced before the COVID pandemic. Yet the movie passengers behavior amidst the virus attack mirrors what occurred in reality. People were quick to point fingers, scream, and try to isolate themselves. Until eventually compassion started to burn stronger and communities of support were created. All of this plays on screen amidst trying to figure out the virus and how to keep everyone alive.
I wrote this screenplay, completed casting, and prepared to start shooting in a world in which COVID-19 did not yet exist. I couldn’t help but be shocked to see the events which I had imagined in my mind become reality. Disasters always strike when we least expect them. Those of us living in this era are already accustomed to the way in which people easily lose strength and become self-centered in the midst of a disaster or crisis. But despite the turmoil faced by humanity during this pandemic, the situation is slowly improving. I hope that this film can provide a small measure of comfort and hope to those who suffered in this tragedy, to those who bravely fought against it, and to all of us who at this moment are exhausted from dealing with the pandemic. - HAN JAE-RIM (Director)
As viewers, we get to enjoy the cinematic turmoil of a virulent outbreak in the movie due to the extra levels of drama that permeate each act. Couple the intense suspense with gorgeously filmed sequences and it’s fantastical enough for viewers to forget how close it toed the reality to truth.
The most beautiful and shocking scene in the movie is the 360 degree shot of the plane tumbling down. After watching the movie, head to the bonus section and watch how that scene was filmed. It was mostly real effects!
“We will keep watching over him. Don’t worry too much.”
KIM So-jin as Hee-jin - The head flight attendant
Despite being blamed for inducing distractions or a big waste of time suck. cell phones became the main star of the movie. Without cell phones, that plane would have tumbled right into the ocean. Those phones became the literal life lines between the passengers and the outside world. It really makes ones wonder what cell phones did these passengers carry? The battery life on those phones were outstanding.
Still riding strong from the Oscar Winning Film, Parasite, SONG Kang-ho continues his strength as playing a grungy but devoted father, but as as a cop in Emergency Declaration. He turns down a trip to Hawaii with his wife to go to work, a choice that he deeply regrets as his wife is on Flight no. KI50. His guilt is amplified any frantic fear as he does everything in his power to help the people on the plane. His tactics are raw and sincere as he struggles against the government and corporate red tape from blocking him almost every step in the way.
Even through the chaos, it was delightful to spot actors from shows currently streaming on Netflix as they scream and flail about. Keen eyed kdrama fans would spot Seol In-Ah as one of the flight attendant. Seol In-Ah played the second lead/best friend in Business Proposal, a rom-com kdrama currently streaming on Netflix. The doctor on the plane was played by Suk Mun, who was on The Uncanny Encounter, a urban fantasy kdrama also on Netflix. One passenger was Kim Hak-Sun, who has appeared on The Extraordinary Attorney woo
“I can no longer keep this plane in the air.
Please open a runway for us.”
KIM Nam-gil as Hyun-soo - The copilot who must land the plane safely at all costs
With the end of the movie, came a long breath out. And in came the string of questions, especially the ending scenes. It appears to be a happy ending but many details stand out to question otherwise. It is clear that there was an end to the plane trip from hell that resonated around the world but certain details seem to point otherwise.
It is pretty amusing that the DVD/blu-ray movie is being released during holidays and traveling season. It would make a great gift to that person with a flair for drama and is about to fly. Unless they’re a person who would cause a scene and a flight delay. Then don’t. Enjoy the movie yourself!
For someone who is a certified scaredy-cat but loves watching disaster movies, this was an absolute visual adventure. There is enough realistic aspects to make it believable but delivered in a way that edges it towards the fantastical improbability. So many coincidences collide on this one plane that one almost expected a soap drama crescendo with each reveal. Yet those genuinely sweet or heart-breaking moments made you root for the impossible to save the people on the plane.
