There have been as many disaster films made as there have been westerns or musicals made in Hollywood. But since 9/11, disaster has a new name: terrorism. And since we have seen a plethora of them, but more to the point have been those centering around trains: "Pelham 123" '09 (first one-"Pelham One Two Three" '74), "Unstoppable" '10 and now through the lens of director Clint Eastwood, we have "The 15:17 to Paris".
In the early evening of August 21, 2015, the world watched in stunned silence as the media reported a thwarted terrorist attack on Thalys train #9364 bound for Paris--an attempt prevented by three courageous young Americans, Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone, traveling through Europe. The film follows the course of the friends' lives, from the struggles of childhood through finding their footing in life, to the series of unlikely events leading up to the attack. Throughout the harrowing ordeal, their friendship never wavers, making it their greatest weapon and allowing them to save the lives of the more than 500 passengers on board.
Others to round out the cast are Judy Greer as Joyce, Spencer's mom, Jenna Fischer as Heidi, Alek's mom, William Jennings as Spencer (11-14), Bryce Gheisar as Alek (11-14), Paul-Mikel Williams as Anthony (11-14), Thomas Lennon as Principal Michael Akers, P.J. Byrne as Mr. Henry, Tony Hale as Coach Murray, Jaleel White as Garrett Walden, Ray Corasani as Ayoub and Patrick Braoude as President Hollande Actor.
This was incredibly directed by the incomparable veteran Clint Eastwood ("Play Misty For Me" '71, "High Plains Drifter" '73, "The Outlaw Jose Wales" '76, "Pale Rider" '85, "Bird" '88, "Unforgiven" '92, "Space Cowboys" 2000, "Mystic River" '03, "Million Dollar Baby" '04, "Gran Torino" '08, "Invictus" '09, "Jersey Boys" '14, "American Sniper" '14, "Sully" '16) plus many others and TV. This talented filmmaker has worked with every actor around, but being able to extract the emotions from non actors in a clear and concise way is proof of his genius. there aren't very many--if any directors that could pull this off and this guy pulls it off in spades. These three friends are the actual heroes of this tragic incident and the idea of them reliving their ordeal on film is not only original but genius to boot. As old as Eastwood is, he never ceases to amaze me. There are few directors that I can count on to give me a well crafted film--Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Guillermo del Toro, Paul Greengrass, but Eastwood is definitely on that list. It was incredibly well thought out by writer Dorothy Blyskal ("That's Entertainment!" (TV series)-episode 1 '14). Other than being a production assistant on several other films--"Sully" being one of them, this writer has to be a natural. Considering she has virtually no feature film experience if much experience at all, Blyskal was able to put together a tremendous amount of material about these three heroes in an amazingly short running time and not made it seem short at al, that it simply made me marvel. Sure, it wasn't an Academy worthy script--there were a couple of small places of slowness, it was still a script that worked. In fact, it being written as a series of flashbacks, its pace was actually slow, but I believe that was purposed to get the audience hyped once they got to that horrific incident on that train.
Whether you're a disaster film buff or an Eastwood affictionado or not, there is something for everyone in this hour and a half running time: thrills, fear, humor, adrenaline and action. And with these ingredients, isn't this the reason why we go to see films anyway? Go see this one, because the way this film unfolds before you, the ride will be worth the price of admission.
Out of 4 Stars: 3.5 Rated: PG-13 93mins.
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