Hotel Mumbai (2019) Review

"Walk away."

-Vasili

In 2008, Mumbai, India suffered a brutal terrorist attack that left at least 174 people dead.  This film focuses on one of the major locations in the attack, the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, and follows the guests and workers trapped inside as they fight to survive.

What Works:

Hotel Mumbai is essentially Die Hard in a hotel; a group of terrorists take control of a building and those trapped inside have to stay alive and avoid the killers, but it's all a true story.  This film is both brutal and disturbing.  The filmmakers did not hold back in terms of violence.  Many people are wounded or killed, some are shot point-blank and we see it up close.  It's a very effective and realistic film that shows the sheer horror of these attacks.  Some may find this to be too much, but I commend the filmmakers for not downplaying how horrific this violence was.

The tension is incredibly high in this film and you are always on the edge of your seat.  No one is safe.  A bullet could come out of nowhere at anytime.  There is fire.  There are explosions.  The characters are panicky and it leaves the audience on the edge of their seats.  I jumped at least twice and the movie does a great job of making you feel as scared as the characters do.

The acting is also around solid.  Everybody does a good job, but I have to give special commendation to Amandeep Singh, who plays one of the terrorists, Imran.  He is injured fairly early on in the attack and is left to guard the hostages.  He has some time to think about everything and starts to realize he is just a pawn in the organization.  He was used and his family will probably never get the money he was promised and his phone call to his father is extremely well acted.

The best character in the movie is Vasili, who is played by Jason Isaacs.  He is wealthy Russian who takes no B.S. from anyone.  There is only one funny moment in this entire film and it comes from Vasili putting a old, white woman in her place after she starts accusing everyone who isn't white of working with the terrorists.  It's very satisfying.  He also antagonizes the terrorists even after he is captured.  He's by far the best character in the film and the easiest to root for.

What Sucks:

I have to say, there a lot of terrible character decisions made in this movie.  I don't know how accurate the character's choices were to their real-life counterparts, but I would hope most people would make smarter decisions if they were in this situation.  There are many missed opportunities where characters could have lived if they had made a move on the attackers and other characters leave safe places only to immediately get gunned down.  It was very frustrating to watch at times.

As I said above, not everyone will be able to stomach this movie.  There are many scenes that are tough to stomach and straight-up upsetting.  I don't get upset by movies very often, but this one was close to the line.  This will be too much for some people, so see this film with caution.

Verdict:

Hotel Mumbai is a brutal, but effective movie that does not hold back with the horror and the terror of the real-life attacks.  The acting is solid and the film is very engaging.  There are some frustrating moments and it will be too much for some viewers to stomach, but it has still got it going on.

 8/10: Really Good