It's an interesting set-up and a nicely realised concept, especially when it goes deeper, suggesting that the 1% manipulates the cost (time) of everything. It is this aspect of the film that gives it relevance, and if it was more developed, we would have had a better film.
I vaguely remember the story about hostages being quite prominent in the news when it was happening. I was only a kid, but some of the original footage used in the movie seems familliar...It is a very tense drama - you're bound to develop a knot in your stomach while watching it! Though the movie is set in Iran, it, I've been told, features Moroccan lamps, Pakistani turbans, and Afghan accents - but you don't pay the attention to this as you keep wondering: are the hostages going to get out??? Recommended viewing.
