Clint Eastwood has directed some wonderful movies, Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven and Gran Torino, but unfortunately the 87-year-old doesn’t deliver with the telling of this true story. It is based on a real event that occurred on the abovementioned train from Amsterdam to Paris in August 2015 which resulted primarily in three backpacking friends disarming a man carrying close to 300 rounds of ammunition. Clint Eastwood made the unusual decision to allow the three main characters to play themselves in the movie, and Mark the guy who got shot. even though none of them had any acting experience.
The film focuses on the backstory of the three young men, how they met, how they got into trouble together, how none of them ever achieved their dreams!!! Two of them join the armed forces but not with the units that they wanted and I don’t think we ever find out what the third guy does but it can’t of been great as he complained of having no money. Together they decide to share a backpacking holiday around Europe. The next 30 minutes feel like you are watching an episode of Getaway dedicated to an Under 30 Kon Tiki tour. Lovely scenery but adds no strength to the plot except how everyone tells them not to go to France. But the main character can feel his destiny drawing him towards Paris and since they had already bought the tickets why not go anyway.
The final scenes revolve around the actual event where possible the worst terrorist in history makes his move. Having smuggled two guns, a Stanley knife and a petrol can on board he holds up in the toilet until he makes his grand entrance. He is confronted by elderly passengers who wrestle his rifle from him, he recovers and shoots one so that he can recover his main weapon. The rifle then jams as the main hero grabs him and they beat him unconscious, although I have to say his friends were a little slow on coming to the rescue. Real newsreel then shows the three and some other guy (not sure what he did) getting medals from the French President.
I understand where Eastwood was trying to take this and show that it takes courage to do something in the face of evil. Unfortunately, the three young men didn’t have the personalities to carry the movie and it showed the importance of using actors when it comes to acting. The story had merit but was more suited to a 20-minute documentary rather than a feature film
I’m giving it 4 friends out of 10