There have been so many movies lately about Somalian pirates they've become a genre unto themselves. One can argue it's been the lesser known ones like A Hijacking and Fishing without Nets that have been the most successful in exploring the crushing economic and social factors that turn men into desperate hijackers, but it's Paul Greengrass' narrow Captain Phillipsthat reaped the accolades. To the credit of director Simon Brand, his new film Defaulttries to combine the best attributes of all three of its predecessors, but isn't intellectually nuanced or gripping enough to measure up.
A big problem that is apparent immediately is Brand's shaky camerawork, clearly inspired by Greengrass and used to try and evoke a sense of realistic urgency. All it turns out to be is a dizzying distraction from a story that gets off to a promising start. A news crew for fictional network ACN has wrapped up work on a story in Africa's Seychelles, and are about to embark on their journey home. They're led by once-great news man Frank Saltzman (Greg Callahan), with his crew (Katherine Moennig, Jeanine Mason, Connor Fox) in tow. ACN has apparently hit the financial skids because their chartered flight looks like something Buddy Holly would scoff at, as it's barely being held together by spit and bailing wire. Not that it matters because before the flight takes off it's boarded by Atlas (David Oyelowo) and a group of Somalian pirates. Their demands are simple at first; keep the cameras rolling, document everything, and have Frank perform an interview with Atlas for broadcast on ACN. 
It's at this point we see that Default has wider ambitions than just another hijacking movie, and initially the promise is worth getting excited about. Atlas is more than he claims to be; he's a thoughtful man who doesn't seem all that interested in money, even though his blood-thirsty comrades definitely are. When Atlas and Frank face off, their conversation goes in an unexpected direction, touching on issues of class, the role of the media, and the nature of terrorism. But when Atlas challenges Frank to a silly life-or-death game of chance, what began as an intellectually stimulating debate begins to shift into just another bland genre flick with cheap tricks and cheaper production values. The finale is a ludicrous and nonsensical mess of illogical action and bloody violence that destroys the legitimately earned tension inside the plane's cramped cabin. It's a shame that screenwriters Jim Wolfe Jr. and Dan Bence go this route because it does a solid cast no favors. It's easy to see why Oyelowo chose to be a part of the film even though he's accustomed to much bigger projects. It gives him a chance to show his natural intensity, and he's head and shoulders above everyone else. We believe him as a leader of men, an ability he'll need to show again later this year as Martin Luther King in Ava Duvernay's Selma. It's a little sad to see the talented Moennig, so good in Showtime's The L Word and Ray Donovan, reduced to barely a supporting role. She's capable of much more and we only get hints of that here. Setting itself apart from a crowded field of Somali pirate movies is a goal Default reaches for, but in choosing meaningless action over all else it's never achieved.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
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