REVIEW: The 15:17 to ParisBy Bri ManzanoFebruary 11, 2018I’d like to preface my review with a respectful recognition of the 15:17 to Paris heroes. Obviously their quick thinking and self-sacrifice deserve the admiration that the film is intended to bring them. The film simply suffers from a myriad of issues that fail to honor the heroes in the way they should be honored.

The 15:17 to Paris follows the story of Spencer Stone and his close friends Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler. As the three friends navigate the hurdles of adolescence and young adulthood, they learn their place in the world, unaware that one day, they will save hundreds of lives by stopping a gruesome terrorist attack.

Of course, I read my own synopsis after having seen the movie and think, “This movie had potential. What went wrong?” Well, mistake number one was giving 15:17 to Paris the poster of a Neeson-esque thriller and marketing it as an action-thriller. This is the actual synopsis on IMDb: “Three American discover a terrorist plot aboard a train while in France.” SPOILER ALERT: the terrorist attack is only the last twenty minutes of the movie, and the rest of it is life story that feels, at best, only marginally related to the focal event of the film. Once the climax comes, it gets across the horror and the rush of the moment, but it’s like sifting through piles of tax documents trying to get there.

Normally this kind of movie can only be so liberal with creative license if it’s going to market itself as “a true story.” However, even “true story” films are generally centric around a particular theme that make the focal point of the movie seem relevant to the protagonist’s journey in some way. 15:17 to Paris doesn’t feel like much of a journey, but more like a random assortment of scenes string together not even acknowledging each other as they pass by.

Now, I have to give the acting more credit than I originally anticipated because only halfway through the film did I realize that the three men are portrayed by themselves. They’re not actors, so there’s only so much you can expect from them. But even from the professionals, the acting is lacking - especially from the child actors. It just feels as though no one is taking it seriously.

Honestly, there just isn’t enough here to make a good movie. Maybe a better movie than we got, with a bit more of a theme to pull together the loose collection of less-than-interesting moments, but not a good movie, unless there’s an abundance of relevant information that I’m missing. I just wish we could have more appropriately honored the stars of the film.

Rating: 2.75/10
Favorite scene: The climax (the part you came to see).
Least favorite scene: The club scene.

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