An unexpectedly personal thriller that thrives on complexity.

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Midnight Eagle (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:13
Fresh:4
Rotten:9
Average Rating:4.5/10
Rated: Not Rated
Genre: Foreign Films
Theatrical Release:Nov 23, 2007 Limited
Synopsis: Coming out in New York and Japan on November 23rd and expanding to Los Angeles on December 7th is Midnight Eagle, the new Japanese film from Strand Releasing. Based on the novel by acclaimed... Coming out in New York and Japan on November 23rd and expanding to Los Angeles on December 7th is Midnight Eagle, the new Japanese film from Strand Releasing. Based on the novel by acclaimed writer Tetsuo Takashima (“Intruder”), Izuru Narushima (“Fly, Daddy, Fly”) directs this compelling action thriller set in the snowbound Northern Alps of Japan. The Ministry of Defense, Ground Self Defense Forces and the Japan Air Self-Defense Forces fully cooperated on this film, which is the first time ever such collaboration has occurred in the history of Japanese film. A top secret American forces strategic bomber known as “Midnight Eagle” suddenly vanishes in the Northern Alps. Its payload is a specialized nuclear warhead. If it were to explode, the entire nation of Japan would be hurled into an unprecedented calamity. Prime Minister Takafumi Watarase convenes an emergency meeting of the Security Council of Japan. An elite squad from the Self-Defense Force able to operate in severe mountains conditions is formed, and heads off to try and recover the fuselage. As former war photographer Yuji Nishizaki spends time in the mountains taking pictures of the skies, he is startled by gunfire, and notices the freshly spilled blood of soldiers on the snow. Aware that his country is under attack, Nishizaki seizes his camera and heads for the battlefield. Nishizaki, his high school friend, the newspaper journalist Shinichiro Ochiai, and Major Akihiko Saeki of the Self-Defense Forces, find themselves In the midst of a terrible blizzard as they are desperately heading towards Midnight Eagle. Back in Tokyo, Keiko, Nishizaki’s sister in law who works as a magazine reporter, contacts an agent who might shed light on an accident she has become privy to. The agent reveals to her the situation going on in the Northern Alps. With only two and a half hours remaining until the specialized warhead is to explode, will Keiko save Nishizaki, Ochiai and Saeki, and bring to a halt the crisis, which could change the fate of Japan? --© Strand Releasing [More]
Starring: Takao Osawa, Yuko Takeuchi, Hiroshi Tamaki, Eisaku Yoshida
Starring: Takao Osawa, Yuko Takeuchi, Hiroshi Tamaki, Eisaku Yoshida, Ken Ishiguro, Yoshihiko Hakamada, Nao Omori, Tatsuya Fuji
Director: Izuru Narushima
Director: Izuru Narushima
Studio: Strand Releasing
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Reviews for Midnight Eagle
Poorly structured, filled with coincidences and plot holes, and laced with scenes of more-than-usually cloying sentimentality, this is oh!-so-far from the best representative of current Japanese cinema or of Asian cinema in general.
A stupor-inducing, would-be thriller from Japan whose sporadic action and inept storytelling is as generic as its title.
Like a series of subplot ships slowly meandering downstream to a final narrative focal point, Midnight Eagle has to be one of the most languid political thrillers ever conceived.
This is pure big-budget formula filmmaking, from the morally compromised hero who regains his self-respect to the spunky reporters, grim military strategists, winsome child, glib political posturing and tense countdown to apparently inevitable disaster.
There are many new Japanese movies that deserve a stateside release. Why this hapless mess beat them out is a question that deserves an answer. (I won't hold my breath waiting.)
It's frustrating that Midnight Eagle is more concerned with puffed-up nationalist pride than logic. How did five characters' paths all converge at the exact same minute anyway?
Less an adventure than a confused message drama about Japanese military preparedness, it will have trouble building even a niche audience.
After early hints of potential Schwarzenegger-ish goofiness, Midnight Eagle settles into near-complete torpor.
The film's brisk pacing can't hide the fuzzy logic of the tenuously structured, convoluted script.
Latest News for Midnight Eagle
November 23, 2007:
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