The 15:17 to Paris
2018
*½
Director: Clint Eastwood
Cast: Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, Judy Greer, Jenna Fischer, William Jennings, Bryce Gheisar, Paul-Mikél Williams, Ray Corasani, P. J. Byrne, Tony Hale, Thomas Lennon, Jaleel White, Mark Moogalian, Isabelle Risacher Moogalian, Sinqua Walls
In August 2015, three American friends on a Thalys train from Amsterdam to Paris disarmed and subdued an armed terrorist. Clint Eastwood's jingoistic but thankfully short drama depicts how these losers became heroes in the cheesiest way possible. Before we get to see their brief act of courage aboard the train, we must sit through their ill-disciplined school years, the bitter disappointments of their military careers, and their irrelevant tourist trip through Europe. Dorothy Blyskal's screenplay, based on the 2016 autobiography The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Heroes by Jeffrey E. Stern, Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler, and Alek Skarlatos, telegraphs every plot point that will eventually prove crucial in their moment of glory. And worst of all, Eastwood has cast the real-life trio to play themselves, and they obviously cannot act.
