Hotel Mumbai Movie Review (2018)

A harrowing dramatized thriller about the real 2008 terror attack in India, Hotel Mumbai is an intensely gripping survival story that highlights the courage of the hotel’s staff.

In 2008, a series of twelve coordinated attacks befell Mumbai, India. Executed by a jihadist militant organization, men were sent to different locations to carry out their orders to kill people at random. One of these locations was the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, a luxury hotel for elite travelers.

Hotel Mumbai is a retelling of that day, mostly through the eyes of the people at the hotel. The movie begins with the armed men being prepped and coached by their leader as they travel to Mumbai. They disperse to their various locations, and gun violence erupts at random. You are also introduced to several hotel workers, wealthy patrons, and the systems in place to make visitors feel they will want for nothing. When attackers arrive at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, chaos erupts, with everyone trying to figure out how to survive.

This is a brutal movie to watch, and it will be too difficult for some viewers, so please keep that in mind. The arbitrary killing is constant, as is the tension and discomfort. These men have a goal, and they have been taught to believe that what they are doing is right, so humanity and the sparing of life are not a consideration.

Two of the hotel workers were the foundation of this film for me. Anupam Kher (The Big Sick) plays a head chef whose every desire is to cater to the guests with perfectionism. Dev Patel (The Personal History of David Copperfield) is a waiter who is discombobulated, trying to care for his young child and his pregnant wife, but later stands in his bravery. Both of these men connected me to the film and their vulnerabilities, and I looked forward to seeing them on screen, even if the moments were heartbreaking.

There are various other stories in the movie, primarily involving patrons. Armie Hammer and Nazanin Boniadi play a newly married couple with a young child, on vacation with their nanny. Jason Isaacs also plays a former Russian operative. All of these people have horrible experiences being trapped in the hotel and with the attackers, but for some reason, their stories never hit me emotionally.

Because this is based on a real-life event, real news footage is intermixed with the fictional narrative. Many of these characters are composites of real people, but those who appear in the 2008 television broadcasts or between scenes are real. Knowing that adds a layer to the realism you will already be feeling.

While you white-knuckle through the violence and anxiety of Hotel Mumbai, there is a sense of courage and heroism that builds from the hotel staff. They are the heroes of this attack, watching out for each other and their valued guests, and at the end of the day, that is the impression I was left with – that even in the face of extreme horror, there is some goodness somewhere to be found. This movie is a lot, but it does an excellent job of telling a story that many of us aren’t familiar with, but should be.

Runtime: 122 minutes

Motion Picture Rating: R

Languages Spoken In The Film: Marathi, English, Russian, Hindi, Punjabi with English subtitles

Should You Watch It? Yes

Did I Cry? Nope

My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Available: Free on Netflix and Tubi, to rent on Prime Video, or may be available for free on other streaming platforms