पैसेंजर 57

"Passenger 57" is one of the many films that followed in the wake of the action film that re invented the genre, 1988's "Die Hard" with Bruce Willis in the lead. When I first saw P57, rented on video in the mid nineties, I wasn't expecting a re-run of Die Hard, but i was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable an action flick it was.

Wesley Snipes and Bruce Payne spark well off each other as the troubled hero and psychotic villain. They are given competent support by the rest of the cast, although one of my small complaints is how under utilised the other actors are. That said, Ernie Lively does a nice turn as the local police chief and Robert Hooks (father of director Kevin Hooks) is good as an FBI Agent.

Essentially, Passenger 57 is a solid little action movie which is well paced and has enough intriguing characters and good action scenes to keep you interested right through to the finale. The story is perhaps a little thin and the script could have used a bit more depth to develop the characters, but it's very enjoyable none the less.

Don't view this expecting a great movie, but if you have an hour and a half to kill this film is well worth a watch.

When terrorists take over a passenger plane while he is in the bathroom, it is up to an airline security specialist to thwart them in this action thriller clearly modeled on 'Die Hard'. Given the familiarity of the basic scenario, 'Passenger 57' is a surprisingly entertaining affair with Bruce Payne making for a memorable charismatic chief villain, plus there are several well coordinated action scenes that take into account the inherent claustrophobia of being in a plane. With this in mind, it seems quite uncanny how much of the action takes place outside the plane with several minutes spent on a chase through a fairground before the characters find themselves in the air once again. The dialogue is also hardly first rate with the film sorely missing the wit that Bruce Willis brought to the 'Die Hard' movies. Something interesting though is that the film is set up to be a redemption movie with protagonist Wesley Snipes haunted by the death of his wife at the hands of a criminal, and yet the film avoids setting up a near-identical scene to give him a chance to act differently, with Snipes instead having to find an alternative path to redemption. The ending feels more than a little rushed though with limited time spent on Snipes and Payne going head to head. This is an extraordinary short movie too, clocking in at just over 80 minutes, but at least it never outstays its welcome.

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.

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!"

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.