Korean cinema's recent obsession with disaster movies continues and the latest to join the already released productions in the genre is probably the most high profile of them all. Featuring a blinding superstar-cast, “Emergency Declaration” also features a terrorist angle and is all set to premiere Out of Competition at Cannes Film Festival this month.
Synopsis
‘Emergency Declaration': If an aircraft faces a potential disaster, and normal flight can no longer be maintained, the pilot calls for an unconditional landing.
Veteran chief police detective In-ho receives a tip about a man threatening a terrorist attack against a plane. While investigating, he discovers that the sus- pect has actually boarded flight no. KI501.
Despite his phobia of flying, Jae-hyuk decides to go to Hawaii for the sake of his daughter's health. At the airport, he is distracted by a strange man who hangs around, speaking to them in a menacing way.
Flight no. KI501 departs Incheon Airport for Hawaii, but soon afterwards a man dies for mysterious reasons. Fear and chaos spread quickly, not only inside the plane, but also on land.
Hearing this news, Transport Minister Sook-hee sets up a counterterrorism task force and calls an emergency meeting in order to find a way to land the airplane.
Han Jae-rim reunites with Song Kang-ho for the third time after “The Show Must Go On” and “The Face Reader”. This will, of course, be Song Kang-ho's first release after ruling the world with “Parasite”. Lee Byung-hun, who seems to have found a taste for disaster films after “Ashfall”, also boards the project, as does Jeon Do-yeon in her first project since the award-winning “Beasts Clawing at Straws”. This will be the first time all three superstars will be seen in the same film together, after working individually with each other a number of times. Kim Nam-gil (“The Shameless”) plays the pilot tasked with the difficult decision of proclaiming the emergency declaration in question, while Im Si-wan (“The Merciless”), Kim So-jin (“Another Child”) and Park Hae-joon (“Believer”) have also checked in. Following the Cannes premiere, a worldwide release is expected.
