A mysterious fugitive, a hijacked airplane, and a daring mid-air escape. This is the extraordinary, real-life tale of one of the greatest unsolved heists in American history and a case that has taunted the FBI for decades. There are four possible suspects; each account is gripping and highly plausible. But who is telling the truth, who is lying, and – ultimately – who is DB Cooper?
This documentary claims to want to uncover the truth about D.B. Cooper, the man who boarded a plane in 1971, hijacked the flight, got a $200,000 ransom, and then escaped mid-flight and was never seen again. The case is fantastic at piquing your curiosity. Something that would have a practically zero chance of happening in the modern-day, but in the '70s when there was minimal airport security? The skies are the limit.
Except for the fact that The Mystery of DB Cooper isn't a straightforward mystery. There isn't a large amount of evidence that can be used to eliminate potential answers until only one answer remains. In fact, one would struggle to call this an investigative piece by any definition of the word. The documentary's narrative structure is comprised of four testimonies of friends/family/acquaintances who claim they know someone that they thought was DB Cooper. These four pieces of anecdotal evidence are intertwined along with pieces of dramatic reenactments.
With the amount of hearsay and circumstantial "evidence", the dramatic reenactments are the only piece of this mixed bag of stories that feels remotely engaging. It is the portion that the start of the documentary should have focused on. Cut out all the jumping to and fro, put forward a linear reenactment that is as accurate as possible according to the information known, from start to finish, and then move onto potential speculation as to what happened and who DB Cooper is.
As a non-American, I know very little about this case. Despite it being the greatest unsolved heist that was supposedly being investigated for 45 years by the FBI, outside of the States, this isn't common knowledge. Occasionally a photo of some damaged money will be shared online with a synopsis about an unsolved hijacking but for the larger international audiences (especially the younger generations), there is no reason for them to know this one. The Mystery of DB Cooper would have very much benefitted from a greater setup and development of the case initially.
What the documentary does do, is look at a different question. DB Cooper was a single person, so why are there multiple people claiming to be DB Cooper? What is it about this case that has people so intrigued that they would lie about being a hijacker? "The Mystery of the Multiple DB Coopers" takes cursory glances at the circumstantial evidence, such as people at a party thinking someone has a similar facial structure to a drawing or a partner with an unknown past that has a history of lies and deceit uncovered. The empirical evidence simply doesn't stack up convincingly and feels wishy-washy.
Everything is simply speculation, and without a strong narrative direction, The Mystery of DB Cooper feels more akin to a scrapbook where most of the photos and articles have been replaced with doodles by a toddler. If you enjoy your Animal Planet and History Channel shows about Mermaids, Aliens, and Bigfoot, then this will be right up your alley. If you want to learn new things and uncover the truth about what happened, The Mystery of DB Cooper provides more questions than answers.
The Mystery of D.B Cooper is in cinemas from December 3, 2020