This is under E for Eastwood in the directing chari.
Director: Clint Eastwood
Writer: Dorothy Blyskal (Screenplay) Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone, Jeffrey E Stern (Book)
Starring: Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone, Ray Corasani, Judy Greer, Jenna Fischer
Plot: Americans discover a terrorist plot on a Paris-bound train.
Tagline – The true story of a terrorist, a train, and three friends who became heroes.
Runtime: 1 Hour 34 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Painfully Boring
Story: The 15:17 to Paris starts as we meet three lifelong friends, Alek (Skarlatos) Anthony (Sadler) and Spencer (Stone) who are on a train to Paris, we flashback to see how their friendship came out and follow Spencer as he is driven to join the military.
As the boys turn to men they go into different fields with Alek following Spencer into the military and while on a European holiday the event which will redefine their lives happens, as they look to deal with a terrorist on the train to Paris.
Thoughts on The 15:17 to Paris
Characters – Alek, Anthony and Spencer all grew up together, stayed friends even when they were separated, they went into the fields they wanted to, with seemingly Alek and Spencer’s choices being important to the events on the train. They sum the idea that we are going to be seeing heroes who have normal lives, normal struggles, they aren’t special in their action, only in their reaction to crisis.
Performances – This is one of the biggest flaws in this movie, we have the real men, playing versions of themselves, the problem is they are not actors, they can’t act, they are heroes don’t get me wrong, but watching them deliver lines is just part of the dullness in this movie.
Story – The story here follows the lives of the real men that stopped a terrorist attack on a train in Paris, the story has become the stuff of legends like it should do. The way this story is told is so boring, we learn about the men’s lives, which only seems to cover two of the three, we deal with dull sequences which include trying to enjoy American football and by the time we get to the big event moment we have lost interest in this film.
Biopic – This does show a big moment in history, the problem is that it is only a quick moment that stopped the event and stretching these men’ normal lives out just drags on and on.
Settings – The settings feel as pointless as the random trip around the Europe they take, we never feel like we are on location.
Scene of the Movie – The incident.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The lack of anything else happening.
Final Thoughts – This is easily one of the worst movies you will see about one of the biggest moments in recent heroism.
Overall: Just what was Eastwood thinking?
Rating
