User Reviews

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.

Well,at least not according to his brief.Mind you,the completely barmy Mr Rane was banging the brief's face on a desk at the time in a subtle attempt to induce such a ringing endorsement.By anyone else's definition Mr Rane is what the medical profession call a nutjob. "You have blown up two planes this year already"says his brief in a non - judgemental tone. "It's four,actually"Rane says proudly. With the help from some henchpersons he escapes from his escort and goes mano a mano with an ex - cop and airline security expert who,heaven be thanked,is travelling on the same plane. Miss E.Hurley,who can't act for toffee,is one of Rane's little helpers. So far - so appallingly bad. Mr W.Snipes as the cop is a credit to his dentist. As cliché builded on cliché I was forced to listen to the soundtrack as some kind of distraction.It sounded as if it was written by a jazz musician who thought it would be easy money to knock off a quick movie score.That couldn't really be the case - could it? If you believe in watching movies with your thumb up your bum and your brain in neutral "Passenger 57" might just pass muster. If however you require a little bit of flair,just a smidgeon of likelihood and some indication that it isn't all a cynical moneymaking exercise....put it back in the "Special Offers" bin and walk away.

Airline security expert John Cutter(Wesley Snipes)is on a routine flight when he must rescue hostages on board from a group of terrorists led by mad bomber Charles Rane(Bruce Payne). Rane is so cold-blooded, he asks a passenger if he had a family then proceeded to shoot him just to prove a point to Cutter that he meant business! Luckily, Cutter and flight attendant Marti Slayton(Alex Datcher)escape into the jumbo liner to release the fuel forcing Rane to land it at a rural landing strip near a fairgrounds while a carnival was taking place. Threatening to kill passengers if the sheriff doesn't refuel the plane, Cutter is able to escape, only to be momentarily arrested by police after being knocked out by the concrete from a harsh landing. Agreeing to release hostages if the fuel is brought to the plane, Sheriff Biggs(Ernie Lively)will carry out his demand. While a flood of passengers storm out of the plane, Rane attempts, along with a few of his henchmen, to flee, making their way to the fairgrounds, with Cutter, after escaping from the police subduing him, following in hot pursuit. With some hostages still on board and Rane on foot through a fairgrounds crowd of innocent people, Cutter has his hands full. A plan is in place and it's all about Rane escaping the electric chair.

Boy, does this joker move fast! Like it's star, the movie barely catches a breath, with a locomotive pace. Not a lot of original plot here, to tell you the truth. It has the terrorism on a plane plot that, even by 1992, had rather worn out it's welcome, but with dynamic stars like Snipes and Payne, as the sneering heavy, they inject a little into it's stale material. Funny how the film moves into a plane, out of it temporarily, only to find both hero and villain returning for one last round. It is essentially your typical cat-and-mouse game between Cutter and Rane with precious, innocent lives at stake. As was typical in action films at this time, you have to take a leap of faith and accept what the script sets up regarding Snipes' abilities to take out the bad guys, and thwart the evil psycho's plans.

This was during the time where Wesley Snipes was being groomed as the next action star. He is in solid form in this movie, looking mighty impressive in combat against Rane and his goons. Tom Sizemore has a sizable supporting turn as Sly Delvecchio, Cutter's boss and friend. Early role for a foxy Elizabeth Hurley as one of Rane's terrorists, disguised as a stewardess. Bruce Greenwood is Sizemore's boss, Stuart Ramsey, head of the airline for which they both work. Robert Hooks does what he can with a small role as Special Agent Henderson, with nice support from Lively as the "country bumpkin" Chief of Police who, as a hostage negotiator, gets a bit too big for his britches.

"Passenger 57" is essentially "Die Hard" on a plane, a simple idea that might have worked if it had not been for the fact that two years prior to this film, the sequel to "Die Hard" was, in fact, about an airport and planes. For the record, almost everything about "Passenger 57" is awry--the acting, the action, the pacing, the plotting.... Need I go on?

The (bad/pathetic/weak) plot: John Cutter (Wesley Snipes) is an ex-cop trained in martial arts (or some form of punching and kicking) aboard flight 163 from somewhere to somewhere else. Mid-flight the plane is taken over by terrorists, led by Charles Rane (Bruce Payne), a man who has had some experience with Cutter in the past and who is pleased to see him onboard. By chance of crappy writing, John Cutter manages to escape from the terrorists and hide out on the plane--even though the terrorists know he is there. Even though there are little places to hide on a plane. Even though they're thousands of miles above land. Never mind that.

Back on land, Sly Delvecchio (Tom Sizemore) helps keep balance in the force by agreeing with the terrorists' requests and stalling for time. When the plane lands to (fuel up/serve as a plot device, your pick), John Cutter is thrown from the plane and setup as a terrorist. However, once again he manages to escape from the grasp of confinement and he slips away on a motorcycle to a big fairground where Charles Rane and his cronies just, by matter of convenience, happen to be!

If you think this movie sounds a lot like "Air Force One," you're right. If you think it sounds like "Die Hard," you'd be even more right. The only thing is, both those films had a level of high-voltage fun--"Passenger 57" has none. The pacing is slow and boring. The action, when it finally arrives, is weak and badly executed. Wesley Snipes essentially runs around a lot using karate moves on people. Puh-lease.

There is basically no action whatsoever in "Passenger 57," and what little of it there is comes off as, quite frankly, rather boring. The "suspense" of the film isn't so suspenseful after a while (or, for that matter, from the very beginning). Being trapped on a plane throughout a film isn't exactly the most suspenseful thing possible, but at least "Air Force One" made up for it with plenty of outrageous action sequences. This movie has none. It basically goes like this: Cutter is trapped on plane. Terrorists take over plane. Cutter hides on plane and evades detection in small crevices. Cutter is thrown off of plane. Cutter is captured by police. Cutter escapes from police. Cutter fights terrorist. Guess what the outcome is.

"Passenger 57" is as recycled as it gets. Granted, "Air Force One" hadn't been made by the time this film came out--but "Die Hard 2: Die Harder" had, and it was a heck of a lot better than this. The director of "Die Hard 2" was Renny Harlin, who no doubt could have turned "Passenger 57" into something at least slightly taunt, supsenseful or amusing. The director, Kevin Hooks, doesn't seem to know how to carry a film along at a reasonable pace while keeping audiences' interest.

The writers of this movie, Dan Gordon and David Lougery, need a little lesson in how to craft a good action movie. Believability isn't always necessary in any form of entertainment. But you can't have entertainment without the entertainment value. That's just called garbage--a genre "Passenger 57" fits nicely into.

Director: Kevin Hooks John Cutter: Wesley Snipes Charlies Rane: Bruce Payne Sly Delvecchio: Tom Sizemore Sabrina Ritchie: Elizabeth Hurley

Written by David Lougery and Dan Gordon

1.5/5 stars.

• John Ulmer

I only heard of this film being mentioned on a countdown of greatest disaster movies, so I thought I might as well see if it deserved a place on the list. Basically, airport security expert John Cutter (Wesley Snipes), still mourning from the death of his wife, and he has accepted the job of chief of security. He boards a plane, as passenger 57, heading for Los Angeles for the annual company meeting, where he also sees the flight attendant he tried to train, Marti Slayton (Alex Datcher). Unfortunately, also being transported on the plane is deranged terrorist Charles Rane (Bruce Payne), who manages to take over with his gang, including fake stewardess Sabrina Ritchie (Elizabeth Hurley). After trying to get help, and briefly meeting Rane, John with the help of Marti manages to land the plane, as it runs out of fuel, but Rane is determined for his plan to continue. So there is some chasing on the ground, through a fun fair, and Rane is caught for a while, but John knows he will only let everyone on the plane go if he is allowed back on. So Rane gets back on the refuelled plane, and John sneaks back on, and after killing all henchmen, all John has to do to save the day is push Rane out the door, no pressure added with the plane crash landing as well. Also starring Tom Sizemore as Sly Delvecchio (named Sly after Sylvester Stallone turned down Snipe's role), Bruce Greenwood as Stuart Ramsey, Robert Hooks as Dwight Henderson, Michael Horse as Forget, Marc Macaulay as Vincent and Ernie Lively as Chief Biggs. Snipes is fine, Payne is alright villain, and the supporting cast, including a then little-known Hurley, are fine. I think the only reason I wasn't convinced was because of seeing guns going off in the plane in mid-flight, there would be creating air-pressure suction all over the plane in reality, but never mind, it's worth watching. Okay!

Passenger 57 starts as hotshot ex anti-terrorist Airline security guard John Cutter (Wesely Snipes) takes a job as head of security for Atlantic International airlines, he decides to fly out to Los Angeles to start his new job. Unfortunately at the same time the FBI decide to fly air-plane hijacker & terrorist Charles Rane (Bruce Payne), whose exploits have become known as 'the reign of terror' (get it?), to LA to stand trial which just plain sounds like a dumb idea & as it turns out it was because Charles with the help of sexy babe Sabrina (Elizabeth Hurley) & some of his terrorist mates hijack the plane, kill the FBI dudes & take the passengers hostage. However Cutter manages to throw a spanner in the works & escape down below to jettison the fuel which forces Rane to land the plane, Rane seems prepared & has a back up plan but Cutter is determined to bring him down for good & save the hostages including a stewardess he fancies...

Directed by Kevin Hooks this typically over-the-top 90's action flick is OK but lacks a certain spark needed to elevate it anything above an average time waster. The script by David Loughery & Dan Gordon takes itself pretty seriously & probably wouldn't get made these days, in fact I'm absolutely positive it wouldn't as it deals with terrorists hijacking an American flight &, well, that's just a sensitive issue these days isn't it? The script seems rather silly & far fetched these days especially post 9/11 as the terrorists depicted in Passenger 57 are seemingly able to freely carry guns aboard, impersonate stewardesses & flight attendants as well as take complete control of a commercial airliner very easily. Basically this film has zero credibility & no-one watching it will think it's possible, I'd also say Passenger 57 is one of the top 10 films most likely never to appear as in-flight entertainment. The actual amount of time on the plane in the air is actually quite small as Cutter forces them to land, however it's at this point the film gets really stupid as Rane sneaks off the plane & legs it only for Cutter to magically know where he's going & chase after him. Seriously, if you watch Passenger 57 try to work out how Cutter knows that Rane is headed towards the funfair? He can't know, it's impossible so why does Cutter follow Rane there when as I've said he couldn't possibly know where Rane was headed? The character's are poor, Rane as a villain is never given any motivation for what he does, other to escape obviously but none as to why he is a terrorist is what I meant. The film moves along at a nice pace, it only lasts for about 80 minutes & is never boring, there's enough action to keep one amused & the story is OK if a little weak in places.

Director Hooks does OK, it's a largely forgettable film to be honest. There's a few decent martial arts fights, some shoot-outs & some chases but it never really gets the blood pumping if you know what I mean, it's competent & fairly slick looking but a bit bland & forgettable overall. I'm not sure if this film is trying to be racist but the two main villains are English, I thought that was a bit harsh actually while most of the good guy's are black. One more thing, I don't know if I have a point here but the interior of the plane looks so fake because the isles between the seats are absolutely massive! I usually travel economy so maybe that's why but I've never seen isles that wide on a plane before, never.

Technically the film is alright, it's well made with that big budget Hollywood action film feel about it. Apparently shot in Florida. The acting is OK, Snipes is alright although the script could have used a few more one-liners to lighten his character up a bit, Payne is a decent villain while Hurley (I was just reading her IMDb bio where it says she claims she hasn't watched TV since 1979!!!!!!) looks hot in this & is probably the only time she has played a villain.

Passenger 57 is a decent enough 90's action flick, it's nothing overly special & there are better films out there with similar plots, Executive Decision (1996) anyone? This is passable entertainment, although it's probably only worth a rent rather than a buy.