The 15:17 to Paris

Ah, the adrenaline and production junkies lament that we may have to endure a healthy dose of normal. God forbid that Tom Cruise and the collective stars of Infinity Wars don't get a role in this flick; no, Eastwood dared to put the real men to the task. Yes, it did detract from the cinematic excitement of the film. Yes, the dialogue was strained and the storyline slow. Yes, suspense was - well - suspended, as we saw the very ordinary lives of the "stars". But therein lies the genius. These are boringly normal men. Painfully boring. Yet they did something unbelievably courageous that the vast majority of us would never consider. It depicts 3 great mates on a very ordinary journey who have to make a sudden decision to confront a spontaneous evil. Unfortunately, nothing I write will make any difference to the Hollywood snobs who insist on a dramatic edge to everything we see. I would not expect them to recognise the genius of Eastwood in allowing these men the forum to explain their courage. It's not great acting. I wouldn't want it to be. I just wanted a genuinely human moment in the manufactured rubbish that Hollywood insists on generating. Thank you, Clint. This was great,

Nice, easy, watch. Good triumphs, evil gets hog-tied and a bunch of good kids show what good guys can do in the face of evil. The fact that it's a true story only makes it that much better. A bonus is a lot of gun-handling without any stupid mistakes resulting in any sort of calamity. Worth a view if you're feeling down about the world. It'll renew your faith in humanity.

Yes, it's a little slow and clunky at times - but so is life. I LOVE that Clint Eastwood allowed these guys to be the heroes of this movie, and not fall into the usual pall of Hollywood sensationalism. If you watch it for what it is, rather than what you expect other action films to be, then you'll enjoy it.