While Blank Panther continues to devour the majority of the box office pie as it approaches $1-billion world wide (at the time of this post), there’s a much different hero story that got overshadowed by the solo debut of the Wakandan King. The 15:17 to Paris tells the frightening tale of three young men travelling across Europe who were suddenly thrust into a terrorist situation aboard a commuter train.
Even if you’re not a fan of his politics, it’s difficult to deny Clint Eastwood’s skills behind the camera. For the soon to be 89-year-old, 4-time Oscar winner, this was certainly a departure from his wheelhouse. His films are typically imbued with a sense of importance…let’s call it narrative gravitas…but in this case, the film only arrived there at the tail end and that was over with not long after. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it just didn’t have the kind of weight I’ve become accustomed to with his work. The majority of the movie is spent hanging out with this trio of friends as their life paths twist and turn, eventually converging on the train for that fateful day. While establishing their friendships from childhood served a larger purpose, far too much of the film’s 94-minute runtime was spent there early on which ultimately detracted from the impactfulness at the beginning. The Dorothy Blyskal script was adapted from the book of the same name, written by Jeffrey E. Stern and the three young men at the center of the story, so perhaps the screenplay just didn’t take enough creative liberties.
Speaking of the these guys, the decision to include them in the film, playing themselves, was a gamble. In all the promotional trailers I had seen for the film, the biggest question mark was whether or not these guys were going to be able to act convincingly. I can’t even begin to imagine what it was like for these young men to go through that ordeal in the first place, let alone reenact the whole thing for our entertainment. All things considered, I was pleasantly surprised…especially by Spencer Stone who I had pegged as the weakest link from the trailers. He was actually the best of the three, but the story is mostly told from his perspective. Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler were both good too and their chemistry as long time friends was readily apparent once they were all together. Again, that isn’t the majority of the film, but it is at its strongest when the three of them are together.
Jenna Fischer and Judy Greer, whom I both enjoy, seemed like odd choices playing Stone and Skarlatos’ mothers. They weren’t bad, but aside from one scene early in the film, there just isn’t a lot of room for them in the hour and a half of movie. Once the timeline moves past elementary school, they fade into tertiary characters with little impact on the events as they unfold. The grade school days do provide for some short but fun comedic cameos from the likes of Thomas Lennon (Reno 911!), Tony Hale (Veep, Arrested Development) and Urkel himself, Jaleel White (Family Matters). Between the three of them, maybe 10-minutes of screen time was shared but it was nice to see Clint inject some much needed levity.
For those of you, like myself, who weren’t completely familiar with what exactly happened on that train, the film’s climax takes you up close and personal. Having developed a bond with the characters, those final moments are much more impactful. Seeing what was at stake and how things transpired…from the people who lived it…really punctuated the magnitude of the situation.
While it’s not a great film, like others of Eastwood’s have been throughout the years, it’s certainly better than critics have given it credit for. It was still made with a good eye for quality and the story is one worthy of the big screen. The lack of star power and general acting prowess is evident and it detracts from the final product some, but there’s something to be said for these three guys who went above and beyond their duties to bring this story to us.
Recommendation: If you’re looking for something besides Black Panther, or you just can’t get tickets yet, this movie isn’t a terrible way to spend 90 minutes. I doubt it will have long term lasting appeal, but it was an interesting idea to utilize the real people to tell their own story.
Grade: C