Passagier 57

An incredibly brief, uninvolving and dumb thriller, Passenger 57 is a film that Wesley Snipes probably doesn't rank too highly on his CV. Though it is fast-paced and action-packed, it just doesn't give the audience the pay-off they need. The whole thing seems to have been made in great haste, with precious little attention to character, dialogue and plot. If Die Hard was the sumptuous five-course meal of action movies, then Passenger 57 is the half-eaten, under-cooked bacon sandwich.

The (somewhat unbelievable) plot has world-feared terrorist Charles Rane (Bruce Payne) being transported by plane to jail. Someone in the corridors of power has rather foolishly allowed him to be transported aboard a regular passenger aircraft, full of normal, innocent members of society. Inevitably, Rane escapes with the help of some of his accomplices, and within minutes he has control of the plane and the life of every passenger aboard. He plans to trade the safety of the passengers for his freedom. The one thing he doesn't reckon on is the presence of Passenger 57, maverick sky marshal John Cutter (Wesley Snipes), who knows a trick or two when it comes to dishing out pain to the bad guys.

You know just from the plot synopsis that Passenger 57 is riddled with unlikely plot holes. But even if you forgive its silliness, it isn't very entertaining on the level of "dumb fun". Payne as the villain is as camp as Christmas; hero Snipes plays it with utter indifference; the plot rattles along with no rhyme or reason making it awfully hard to care about any of the protagonists; and the climax is such a rushed muddle of a sequence that it comes over more as an anticlimax than anything. It's easy to knock action movies, especially if you prefer something with a bit of depth and believability, but even champions of the "big, cheesy action flick" are likely to come away from Passenger 57 feeling disappointed.

Passenger 57 (1992)

*** (out of 4)

An airline security adviser (Wesley Snipes) finds himself on board a plane that gets taken over by a notorious hijacker (Bruce Payne). PASSENGER 57 isn't going to go down in history as one of the greatest action movies ever made but I think it has a limited charm to it. There's no question that this thing shouldn't be confused for an "A" picture but if you go into this expecting a little "B" movie then you might find yourself entertained. This is the type of action film that really dumbs everything down because everything that happens just comes across so easy that you'd think being able to hijack a plane, jump off a plane and then get back on it would be something that anyone could do. If you put too much thought into this picture then you're going to see countless flaws and we won't even go into detail about how the terrorist, no matter what's going on, always gets the final say in what happens. The performances certainly help keep the film moving with Snipes perfectly being able to handle the action scenes, the laid back nature of his character as well as the silly one-liners that all action movies have. Snipes makes for a good lead who works well with the supporting cast around him. This includes Tom Sizemore in his small role, which the actor at least brings some laughs with. Elizabeth Hurley is also extremely good in her limited part as is Alex Datcher. Payne easily steals the picture as the sadistic bad guy who eats up every scene that he's in. You can tell the actor is having a good time playing this villain and we in return have fun watching and rooting against him. Again, if you're looking for a big-budget, lots of stunts action film then you're going to be letdown. This is a pretty small movie but I think for what it is the film works well.

The tag; "Die Hard" on a plane is pretty much true when describing this uninspired Wesley Snipes action vehicle of the early nineties. A captive terrorist being transported on an aircraft by the FBI is violently freed by his associates and they take the plane hostage. However on board happens to be an airline security specialist who goes about making their life's hell. Durable direction along with Mark Irwin's crisp photography and exhilarating stunt-work (the opening chase sequence). While it might be systematic in its execution (exciting combat where characters get caught, escape, get caught and escape again), but a confident Snipes makes light work of the slight and clichéd material (where we get the usual character/s with a brooding past) to deliver cracking blows taking out the terrorists one-by-one and sharp-one liners ("Always bet on black"). Around this time Snipes had become somewhat of a household name and a Hollywood banker with movie fans. Churning out films like "White Men Can't Jump", "Boiling Point", "Rising Sun", "Demolition Man" and "Drop Zone". This entry might not make much of the dent in Snipes' portfolio, but for the undemanding just wanting some simple action moving at a brisk pace with some venomously psychotic villain performances (led by the exceptional Bruce Payne and an early part for Elizabeth Hurley) and fine support (Tom Sizemore and Ernie Lively). You can't go wrong with the consistently entertaining "Passenger 57".

"I never live in the past"

Passenger 57 is an enjoyable and rather underrated action film. Although there is not too much of a storyline, the slick action scenes combined with some very good performances from Wesley Snipes and Bruce Payne kept me entertained from start to finish.

While Passenger 57 offers nothing really new to the action genre, it does offer plenty of fast paced chaos and explosions and combined with some entertaining hand-to-hand combat skills by Snipes, it is certainly better than a lot of other standard action fares out there.

Snipes gives a very good performance as the lead and Bruce Payne is brilliant as the mentally unstable villain. The other cast are somewhat overshadowed by Snipes and Payne, but do an adequate enough job.

Overall I was very pleased by Passenger 57, so much so that it proudly belongs in my DVD collection. A very good choice for action fans and a must for Snipes fans. 8/10.

And don't forget...."Always bet on black!"

I tried to watch this movie without thinking at all and to just relax but it wasn't the easiest thing in the world to do.

A few things made this movie really great: Wesley Snipes, the music, some of the lines, the action.

Other than those, the movie could have been much better.

Wesley Snipes plays John Cutter, a former airline security expert who is flying on a plane when terrorists happen to take over. Bruce Payne plays Charles Rane AKA "Rane of Terror", a terrorist who leads the attack on the plane. Tom Sizemore plays Sly Delvecchio, Cutter's buddy. Thats all I care to mention actor-wise.

I think Snipes could have used a lot more screen-time or at least more back-story. I barely got to know him.

The movie was in ten places at once, which made it extremely difficult to follow along. However, I still enjoyed the film.

Not a bad mindless movie, but try not to think too much.

6/10.