Told through half documentary and half narrative flashbacks, I am DB Cooper gives us an insight into a man who claims to be the famous plane hijacker DB Cooper.
WRITTEN BY ELLIOT LINES / DECEMBER 6, 2022
I am DB Cooper shows the journey of two bounty hunter brothers that encounter an ailing old man named Rodney Bonnifield while coordinating his bail after a violent encounter on a dairy farm involving a machete. Close to his sentencing, he reveals to the bondsmen that he is in fact the infamous DB Cooper, the man responsible for the 1971 plane hijacking in the Pacific Northwest, and the ransom cash is still buried along the Columbia River. Up against the clock with Rodney’s prison sentence looming, the group sets out on a modern-day treasure hunt to recover the money he buried near the river 50 years ago, uncovering bizarre truths about Rodney Bonnifield and his connection to the only unsolved plane hijacking in U.S. history.
Through the use of narrative story telling I am DB Cooper gives us a good insight into the life of Rodney Bonnifield, who from an early age has been living a life of crime. Using this narrative story telling mixed with the more generic documentary style certainly helps picture out what led this man to "potentially" carry out one of the most infamous and currently only unsolved plane hijackings in history.
With such an interesting subject matter, it's difficult not to get indulged into the story. There are plenty of questionable "truths", but there is a believable element to the story being told that could mean he is DB Cooper. Whether this is the truth or not, which I don't believe will ever be known, still remains to be seen especially this far on (over 50 years ago). I am DB Cooper tells Bonnifields story and keeps you intrigued across the runtime, which good documentaries achieve.
STAR RATING
