Passenger 57 (1992) Reviews

• A small winner of a film all round.

  RedRoadster2008-10-28

  "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.

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• Good solid action flick. A must for Snipes fans.

  Conan_The_Barbarian2004-09-02

  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!"

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• Forgettable action film

  Tweekums2009-07-21

  This isn't a bad film but it isn't exactly a great film either; Wesley Snipes does a good job as airline security expert John Cutter who is in the wrong place at the right time, Bruce Payne is okay as the psychotic terrorist and Alex Datcher is fairly forgettable as the feisty stewardess. For a thriller this is also lacking in any twists whatsoever. We are told who is bad and who is good almost as soon as their character appears. The film opens with Charles Rane in an operating theatre awaiting plastic surgery, we know he is somewhat insane as he insists in having no anaesthetic. Before the operation can start the police move in and Rane attempts to escape but is eventually captured... now they just have to get him to Los Angeles for trial. Obviously the best way to transport one of the world's most wanting criminals across the US is to put him on a commercial flight with a couple of marshals. Of course Rane's people are on the plane amongst both passengers and crew and shortly after take off they seize the plane. Luckily they hadn't counted on John Cutter the airline's new security expert being on board. He manages to call the airline and alert them about the hijacking before being briefly captured. He escapes his captors then flees to the plane's storage area where he accesses the avionics bay and forces the plane to dump fuel. This necessitates landing at a small airfield in Louisiana where Cutter jumps from the plane and is promptly detained by the local police who are stereotypical incompetent Southern yokels. While the plane is on the ground Rane and some of his associates get off the plane and flee to a local fair ground where after a bit more fighting he is captured again. That isn't the end though as his people still on the plane threaten to kill more hostages if he isn't freed. Once back on the plane Cutter confronts Rane one last time with the inevitable results on expects from this sort of film. This isn't a film I'd go out of my way to see but it is okay if you have eighty minutes to kill and want some fairly mindless action. I wouldn't advise buying it unless you are a fan of cheesy action flicks or of Wesley Snipes.

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• Wesley Snipes vs The Rane Of Terror. Or should that be our Pain at the Terror?

  Spikeopath2009-10-09

  Of all the Die Hard clones there have been, and there have been many! Passenger 57 may just be the worst. The story follows Wesley Snipes' airline security expert John Cutter, who whilst undertaking a flight to L.A. gets embroiled in a hostage takeover led by evil bad man with a troubled childhood, Charles Rane. Cue quips, kicks and death defying tricks as Cutter strikes one for the good guys. Kevin Hooks' film works well enough on a very basic actioner level, due in the main to Snipes. Snipes was six years away from his signature role in Blade, and for sure he is a bona fide action star. As evidenced here, he has the charisma and body motions to carry the film thru its turgid script. It's a script that smacks of the writers sitting round a table and suggesting they put Snipes in a number of tricky situations and used that as an excuse for him to beat the crappola out of everyone. Oh and lets not forget the forced love story waiting to happen as well. Ultimately it's just a lazy film that is the cash in that many realised it was upon its release. Bruce Payne manfully tries to make the unbalanced Charles Rane truly evil, but doesn't succeed. Liz Hurley, goddess of womanhood that she is, looks uncomfortable holding a gun, while leading lady Alex Datcher is hopelessly out of her depth. While the youthful looking Tom Sizemore and Bruce Greenwood also appear - but both are throwaway characters that you end up wishing we had had more of. Stanley Clarke's score is abysmal, it's the sort of score one expects to hear in a soft core porno movie - you know the kind where the protagonists are making love but they still have their underwear on! Yes that kind. Poor plotting, poor scripting and just about poor in technical execution. I don't ask much of the action genre, I really don't, but at least give the film some soul from which to entertain the popcorn masses. 3/10 for Snipes' fighting and Liz Hurley's legs.

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• A great action movie

  Manchester2001-03-27

  I remember seeing Passenger 57 when I was a freshman in high school and when I first saw it I loved it. Now nine years have past and I decided to buy it (huge Bruce Payne fan). I absolutely love this movie sure this movie parallels Die Hard II and you can find it highly predictable but I feel it does exactly what an action film is meant to do. The director, Hooke, provides adventure through incredible situations that are yes unbeliveable but still very cool. The viewer does not have to search for a hidden meaning or a morel message they just have to sit back and enjoy the ride. I suggest that if you are looking for a way to veg-out and relax this movie is perfect to watch.

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