Passenger 57 (1992) User Reviews

A small winner of a film all round.

[RedRoadster · 7/10 · 28 October 2008]

"Passenger 57" is one of the many films that followed in the wake of the action film that re invented the genre, 1988's "Die Hard" with Bruce Willis in the lead. When I first saw P57, rented on video in the mid nineties, I wasn't expecting a re-run of Die Hard, but i was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable an action flick it was.

Wesley Snipes and Bruce Payne spark well off each other as the troubled hero and psychotic villain. They are given competent support by the rest of the cast, although one of my small complaints is how under utilised the other actors are. That said, Ernie Lively does a nice turn as the local police chief and Robert Hooks (father of director Kevin Hooks) is good as an FBI Agent.

Essentially, Passenger 57 is a solid little action movie which is well paced and has enough intriguing characters and good action scenes to keep you interested right through to the finale. The story is perhaps a little thin and the script could have used a bit more depth to develop the characters, but it's very enjoyable none the less.

Don't view this expecting a great movie, but if you have an hour and a half to kill this film is well worth a watch.

Standard action-packed movie with the usual two-fisted hero acting in a hijacking

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 12 December 2006]

John Cutter (Wesley Snipes) is an expert security agent who's still mourning the death his wife . He embarks a large plane , L1011-500 "Tristar , assisted by beautiful air hostesses (two gorgeous flight attendants : Alex Datcher and Elizabeth Hurley , one of the earliest film roles). Then , he finds himself accidentally trapped into the middle of an airline Jumbo hijacking executed by an arch-villain terrorist (Bruce Payne) who previously committed numerous terrorists acts . He hijacks the crew and seizes control of it . Cutter must take action confronting the nasty criminal , developing a battle of wits between two charismatic opponents . Meanwhile , Cutter contacts with his airline chiefs (Tom Sizemore and Bruce Greenwood) who want to hide the events .

The film packs nonstop action , suspense , tension , lots of violence when the murders and fighting happen , being quite entertaining . It's a run-of-the-mill action film in which from the beginning to the ending the thriller and emotion is continuous . This film Passenger 57 (1992) was scheduled to air on a Starz Entertainment Group channel the night of 9/11 , what with the themes of terrorism on an airplane, the broadcast was obviously cancelled . Wesley Snipes is top-notch as an action hero , turning into tough action man in films of big budget , just like ¨Murder at 1600¨ , ¨Money train¨ , ¨US Marshall¨ and ¨Blade¨ trilogy ; however , nowadays , he only makes low/medium budget films as ¨Unstoppable¨ , ¨The detonator¨, ¨7 seconds¨ , ¨Chaos¨, ¨The marksman¨ , among others . While on the plane Wesley Snipes reads the book 'The Art of War' ; Snipes later starred in the film ¨The art of war¨ (2000) that was loosely based on the book . Bruce Payne is excellent as the ruthless and extremely intelligent villainous , he plays -as always- magnificently a megalomaniac nasty .

Spectacular musical score by Stanley Clarke , being appropriately adjusted to action . The motion picture was well directed by Kevin Hooks -an usual TV movies director- . Robert Hooks, who plays FBI agent Dwight Henderson in the film , is the father of director Kevin Hooks . The film will appeal to action genre enthusiasts . It's a must see for Wesley Snipes fans .

Forgettable action film

[Tweekums · 5/10 · 21 July 2009]

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.

Starts out good but....

[ebiros2 · 3 December 2011]

Wesley Snipes is about the only thing that's good in this movie. The movie starts out good with interesting situation going on inside the plane. Then the setting moves to the ground, and we see local law enforcement agency and the FBI getting involved, things gets dumb and dumber.

Why they had to abandon the airplane and go into the boring ground scene, I have no idea. They lost all the plot right there and then. The guy who escaped was absolute nobody, so it wasn't interesting even if he did escape. Movie gets worse as it progresses as even the fight scene including Wesley Snipes gets worse.

The stunt at the end was ridiculous. How can a police car catch up with a jet plane that's about to reach take off velocity ?

The fault was with the writer. The movie could have been 100% better if Wesley Snipes was allowed to sleuth around the airplane inflicting damages to the bad guys. Then it would have been a budget version of Die-hard, or maybe better, and the movie surely would have been a classic with sequels.

Too bad that they blew their opportunity, because of poor script writing.

Passenger 57

[Scarecrow-88 · 6/10 · 10 November 2009]

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.

Fly Hard with a Vengeance

[sol- · 6/10 · 28 September 2017]

When terrorists take over a passenger plane while he is in the bathroom, it is up to an airline security specialist to thwart them in this action thriller clearly modeled on 'Die Hard'. Given the familiarity of the basic scenario, 'Passenger 57' is a surprisingly entertaining affair with Bruce Payne making for a memorable charismatic chief villain, plus there are several well coordinated action scenes that take into account the inherent claustrophobia of being in a plane. With this in mind, it seems quite uncanny how much of the action takes place outside the plane with several minutes spent on a chase through a fairground before the characters find themselves in the air once again. The dialogue is also hardly first rate with the film sorely missing the wit that Bruce Willis brought to the 'Die Hard' movies. Something interesting though is that the film is set up to be a redemption movie with protagonist Wesley Snipes haunted by the death of his wife at the hands of a criminal, and yet the film avoids setting up a near-identical scene to give him a chance to act differently, with Snipes instead having to find an alternative path to redemption. The ending feels more than a little rushed though with limited time spent on Snipes and Payne going head to head. This is an extraordinary short movie too, clocking in at just over 80 minutes, but at least it never outstays its welcome.

"Charles Rane is not insane"................

[ianlouisiana · 3/10 · 13 February 2010]

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.

"I have a feeling it's going to be a very interesting flight"

[lost-in-limbo · 6/10 · 13 March 2012]

The tag; "Die Hard" on a plane is pretty much true when describing this uninspired Wesley Snipes action vehicle of the early nineties. A captive terrorist being transported on an aircraft by the FBI is violently freed by his associates and they take the plane hostage. However on board happens to be an airline security specialist who goes about making their life's hell. Durable direction along with Mark Irwin's crisp photography and exhilarating stunt-work (the opening chase sequence). While it might be systematic in its execution (exciting combat where characters get caught, escape, get caught and escape again), but a confident Snipes makes light work of the slight and clichéd material (where we get the usual character/s with a brooding past) to deliver cracking blows taking out the terrorists one-by-one and sharp-one liners ("Always bet on black"). Around this time Snipes had become somewhat of a household name and a Hollywood banker with movie fans. Churning out films like "White Men Can't Jump", "Boiling Point", "Rising Sun", "Demolition Man" and "Drop Zone". This entry might not make much of the dent in Snipes' portfolio, but for the undemanding just wanting some simple action moving at a brisk pace with some venomously psychotic villain performances (led by the exceptional Bruce Payne and an early part for Elizabeth Hurley) and fine support (Tom Sizemore and Ernie Lively). You can't go wrong with the consistently entertaining "Passenger 57".

"I never live in the past"

Wesley Snipes vs The Rane Of Terror. Or should that be our Pain at the Terror?

[hitchcockthelegend · 3/10 · 9 October 2009]

Of all the Die Hard clones there have been, and there have been many! Passenger 57 may just be the worst. The story follows Wesley Snipes' airline security expert John Cutter, who whilst undertaking a flight to L.A. gets embroiled in a hostage takeover led by evil bad man with a troubled childhood, Charles Rane. Cue quips, kicks and death defying tricks as Cutter strikes one for the good guys. Kevin Hooks' film works well enough on a very basic actioner level, due in the main to Snipes. Snipes was six years away from his signature role in Blade, and for sure he is a bona fide action star. As evidenced here, he has the charisma and body motions to carry the film thru its turgid script. It's a script that smacks of the writers sitting round a table and suggesting they put Snipes in a number of tricky situations and used that as an excuse for him to beat the crappola out of everyone. Oh and lets not forget the forced love story waiting to happen as well.

Ultimately it's just a lazy film that is the cash in that many realised it was upon its release. Bruce Payne manfully tries to make the unbalanced Charles Rane truly evil, but doesn't succeed. Liz Hurley, goddess of womanhood that she is, looks uncomfortable holding a gun, while leading lady Alex Datcher is hopelessly out of her depth. While the youthful looking Tom Sizemore and Bruce Greenwood also appear - but both are throwaway characters that you end up wishing we had had more of. Stanley Clarke's score is abysmal, it's the sort of score one expects to hear in a soft core porno movie - you know the kind where the protagonists are making love but they still have their underwear on! Yes that kind. Poor plotting, poor scripting and just about poor in technical execution. I don't ask much of the action genre, I really don't, but at least give the film some soul from which to entertain the popcorn masses. 3/10 for Snipes' fighting and Liz Hurley's legs.

Great action, decent acting, paper-thin plot

[emperor_bender · 6/10 · 3 June 2009]

I tried to watch this movie without thinking at all and to just relax but it wasn't the easiest thing in the world to do.

A few things made this movie really great: Wesley Snipes, the music, some of the lines, the action.

Other than those, the movie could have been much better.

Wesley Snipes plays John Cutter, a former airline security expert who is flying on a plane when terrorists happen to take over. Bruce Payne plays Charles Rane AKA "Rane of Terror", a terrorist who leads the attack on the plane. Tom Sizemore plays Sly Delvecchio, Cutter's buddy. Thats all I care to mention actor-wise.

I think Snipes could have used a lot more screen-time or at least more back-story. I barely got to know him.

The movie was in ten places at once, which made it extremely difficult to follow along. However, I still enjoyed the film.

Not a bad mindless movie, but try not to think too much.

6/10.

Just Pass It......

[shortround8391 · 3/10 · 9 April 2009]

I wanna start by saying that I absolutely love "Die Hard", it's one of my favorite films of all time and its the film that changed the action genre forever. In the years following its release, many of the action flicks have borrowed the basic premise of "Die Hard", making it film about a cop or someone along those lines fighting the bad guys in a limited location, whether its on a bus (Speed), a battleship (Under Siege), a hockey stadium (Sudden Death). But now what we get here is "Die Hard on a plane" which goes by the name "Passenger 57".

It's not that good. I really didn't find myself caring about about the cop whose wife was killed in a holdup all because Snipes just doesn't give a lot of emotional depth in here. And its too bad that he wasn't given good material to work with since his lines seem so forced and awkward when he says them. In "Die Hard", it was totally different because Bruce Willis blended into the role of John McClane perfectly, he just soothed out his lines with heart, soul and personality. Snipes just does the opposite.

Also, the main villain Charles Rane didn't interest me that much, 'cause Bruce Payne's performance was somewhat wooden and dry. But I'll admit that the part when the little kid on the plane pretended to shoot him and Rane responded by pretending to shoot him back was somewhat amusing.

The martial arts action was another low-point for me, the sequences seemed to be very stilted and stiff. Every action flick has at least GOT to have good action, there's no denying that. But when I see the kind of action this film has to offer, it doesn't make me feel like I wanna do it in real life to someone I hate.

One thing that wasn't too shabby was the soundtrack and the composers skill to at least save the action scenes from falling apart completely.

I wouldn't call this "boring" to watch, but it's just a little bland and uninteresting, in fact its got a less than 90 minute runtime, so you could watch it if you REALLY, REALLY don't have anything to do.

Good solid action flick. A must for Snipes fans.

[Conan_The_Barbarian · 8/10 · 2 September 2004]

Passenger 57 is an enjoyable and rather underrated action film. Although there is not too much of a storyline, the slick action scenes combined with some very good performances from Wesley Snipes and Bruce Payne kept me entertained from start to finish.

While Passenger 57 offers nothing really new to the action genre, it does offer plenty of fast paced chaos and explosions and combined with some entertaining hand-to-hand combat skills by Snipes, it is certainly better than a lot of other standard action fares out there.

Snipes gives a very good performance as the lead and Bruce Payne is brilliant as the mentally unstable villain. The other cast are somewhat overshadowed by Snipes and Payne, but do an adequate enough job.

Overall I was very pleased by Passenger 57, so much so that it proudly belongs in my DVD collection. A very good choice for action fans and a must for Snipes fans. 8/10.

And don't forget...."Always bet on black!"

Fun 90s action thriller

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 17 April 2015]

Charles Rane (Bruce Payne) is a ruthless terrorist. The FBI manages to capture him right before he is able to get plastic surgery. Former secret service agent John Cutter (Wesley Snipes) is still haunted by his dead wife. His old friend Sly Delvecchio (Tom Sizemore) gets him an airline security job. Marti Slayton is the brash flight attendant. They are flying out to L.A. Also on the plane, Rane is being transported accompanied two FBI agents. The problem is that Rane's people are also on board and they're armed. Cutter forces the plane to land.

This is simply a fun action thriller. The script has a lot of action and the . It doesn't necessarily take it too seriously. Wesley Snipes delivers the action and Schwarzenegger-worthy one liners. "Always bet on Black!" There is enough wild action. Bruce Payne is terrific. He milks every insane Bond villain move. It is a lot of fun especially if you don't try to dissect everything.

Super generic

[briancham1994 · 3/10 · 2 June 2020]

This film doesn't even work as a "typical" or "average" action movie. It is too dumb and cheesy even by 90s action movie standards. It takes all the cliches of the genre but adds nothing thrilling or memorable. The only entertainment value I got was spotting all the airport related moments that could not happen nowadays.

Silly but Entertaining

[Michael_Elliott · 6 September 2012]

Passenger 57 (1992)

*** (out of 4)

An airline security adviser (Wesley Snipes) finds himself on board a plane that gets taken over by a notorious hijacker (Bruce Payne). PASSENGER 57 isn't going to go down in history as one of the greatest action movies ever made but I think it has a limited charm to it. There's no question that this thing shouldn't be confused for an "A" picture but if you go into this expecting a little "B" movie then you might find yourself entertained. This is the type of action film that really dumbs everything down because everything that happens just comes across so easy that you'd think being able to hijack a plane, jump off a plane and then get back on it would be something that anyone could do. If you put too much thought into this picture then you're going to see countless flaws and we won't even go into detail about how the terrorist, no matter what's going on, always gets the final say in what happens. The performances certainly help keep the film moving with Snipes perfectly being able to handle the action scenes, the laid back nature of his character as well as the silly one-liners that all action movies have. Snipes makes for a good lead who works well with the supporting cast around him. This includes Tom Sizemore in his small role, which the actor at least brings some laughs with. Elizabeth Hurley is also extremely good in her limited part as is Alex Datcher. Payne easily steals the picture as the sadistic bad guy who eats up every scene that he's in. You can tell the actor is having a good time playing this villain and we in return have fun watching and rooting against him. Again, if you're looking for a big-budget, lots of stunts action film then you're going to be letdown. This is a pretty small movie but I think for what it is the film works well.

Oh no, Marti. I'm going to kill you during.

[lastliberal · 6/10 · 1 June 2007]

OK, I do not recommend this movie unless you have 90 minutes to waste and just want some mindless action in the background while you are doing something else.

I like Jean Claude Van Damme, Sylvester Stalone, Steven Seagal, and Wesley Snipes when I want vicarious thrills, loud noise, and furious action. No plots, little dialog to ponder, just action. They all do a good job.

Snipes was his usual self, Bruce Payne made a good terrorist, and Elizabeth Hurley was easy on the eyes.

'Nuff said.

One of Snipes best movies

[Cross18 · 7/10 · 1 November 1999]

This movie is awesome! Wesley Snipes is one of the best action stars in America and this is one of his best movies. Snipes stars as John Cutter, a special security agent who's flying to his new job in Las Angeles. Little does he know he just got on the wrong plane. Bruce Payne plays Charles Rane, a British Terrorist who's being flown to LA to stand trial. While in the air, Rane's henchmen kill the FBI agents who were guarding him and take control of the aircraft. Only one man escapes detection: Cutter. their, that's the basic plot. Wesley Snipes breaks out some of the most lethal moves ever and the action and stunts are cool as hell. I highly recommend this to anybody looking for a good action movie.

A Silly "Shoot It Up, Punch 'Em Out" Movie

[sddavis63 · 2/10 · 6 January 2010]

If the only thing you're interested in when you watch an action movie is guns blazing and fight scenes, then this will satisfy. There's a lot of gunfighting in this one, and Wesley Snipes definitely proves that he knows something about the martial arts. His fight scenes are well done for the most part. In general, though, the movie repeatedly insists on descending into silliness, with a story that makes very little sense, even as actions movies go.

Snipes plays John Cutter, a security expert who's just been hired to be chief of security for Atlantic International Airlines. He boards a flight for Los Angeles not knowing that the FBI is transporting a vicious terrorist on the same flight. The opening scenes involving terrorist Charles Rane (Bruce Payne) and his attempt to escape the FBI by fleeing a plastic surgeon's office, where he was apparently going to have his appearance changed, was pretty dramatic and established the nature of that character reasonably well. Unfortunately, the extended opening development of Cutter seemed unnecessary and overlong. The real problem here though (and where the movie lost all credibility with me), has to do with Rane's plan for hijacking the flight. Sly Delvecchio (Tom Sizemore) - who's one of the bigwigs with the airline - keeps complaining that the FBI didn't tell the airline that they'd use that flight to transport a dangerous criminal. But that makes sense to me. Why tip anybody off? So even the airline doesn't know that he's going to be on the plane. How, then, did Rane manage to get not just one but two of his people on board the plane - not as passengers but as crew? Either he got them hired by the airline specifically for this operation or he recruited two employees. Either way, they'd have to have known in advance that he was going to be on this particular flight and arranged to work this particular flight by bidding on it in advance, because these things are arranged by seniority. Sure, there could have been an FBI mole who tipped him off, but I doubt this decision was made weeks in advance in order to facilitate all these arrangements, and there's still the problem of getting the flight attendant and baggage handler scheduled to work this flight. A rather silly and overly convenient plot device, if you ask me.

Once this is over, there's very little of note and nothing much you remember about it. It's an action flick among action flicks - but even sillier than most, and adding nothing original to the genre. However, I did enjoy Cutter's comment to Rane - "always bet on black!" 2/10

Cheesy, campy return to the 'Doomed Flight' genre...

[legendaryunderdog · 6/10 · 29 August 2008]

Wesley Snipes is the only fun there is about this movie and he really isn't that fun in this movie! He stars as former air security rep. John Cutter, Cutter lost in wife in a tragic holdup and he blames himself wholly because of it. Virtual Unknown at the time Elizabeth Hurley plays a crooked stewardess, the villain Rane is cool, a little too mysterious but cool. Everything in this movie is rushed along in a quick hour and twenty minutes pretty well so there really is no time to go to the bathroom or get popcorn while its going (not that you'll miss much). Overall not a horrible movie but still is cheesy and campy in some spots (almost like this movie should have been on TV instead). The ending is silly and a lot of the action in this film depends on your ability to disassociate yourself with reality and let the campiness do its work.

Bathroom break saves the airplane

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 29 November 2016]

Playing the title role in Passenger 57 is airline security expert Wesley Snipes who is on board a flight where known terrorist Bruce Payne is being transported to face justice. Only Payne has other ideas. A whole flock of his confederates are on the flight including one of the stewardesses Elizabeth Hurley. She's a pretty deadly all on her own.

Payne has some scheme afoot and needs the plane for more than just escape. He has to have the plane landed to refuel.

My sheer dumb luck as Snipes is heeding nature's call Payne and his crew miss him. At this point it becomes a deadly cat and mouse game between Payne and Snipes with each exchanging the role of cat and mouse at different points of the film.

Action fans will have no cause for complaint from Passenger 57. The tension is at times overwhelming. It always is in airline films where passengers are helpless thousands of feet above the ground and have no choice but to trust the professionals. This is inherent in every film about an airline flight going back to The High And The Mighty and much further than that.

Snipes and Payne are an evenly matched set of adversaries. Passenger 57 is a tension filled movie right up the end.

Passenger 57 does have it's problems

[videorama-759-859391 · 6/10 · 2 April 2014]

Although it's a quite well executed show with variety too, where we're not just in the air for a long time, Passenger 57 doesn't achieve all it, sets out to. Snipes is solid, while great British character actor, Brice Payne, is menacingly unforgettable, a guy you don't up close to, or personal with. Also unforgettable as his girlfriend, stewardess, is Hurley who doesn't do a bad job either, playing bad good. The film feels like it's been cut short somewhere, and does share quite a few faults, that de cheapens to it a cheesy level, but the film is a lot of fun. Too is watching Snipes rip into Payne, the fight near the end I would of loved to have been longer. What I liked especially, before take off, is a number of scenes, as too a flashback one, involving Snipes's wife who was killed in a liquor store hold up, hence, why he got into the business of counteract terrorism. An early scene is a great humorous and demonstrative show of plane security. A couple of other scenes, we gain a little knowledge into terrorism. Here's some far fetched scenes: 1. Payne jumping out of a window, from about four stories up, and managing to still get up 2. The plane of passengers not reacting to the sound of sirens outsides, as if they don't exist. 3. Snipes rolling onto the tarmac in the path of one of the wheels but avoiding it. 4. Snipes grabbing a bag of popcorn at the carnival, without paying while in full view of the proprietor. Want me to go on. And why the hell would you have a carnival with rides and that, next to a frickin' airport. And how they got away at the end, when back on the ground, telling the news, it was all a safety anti terrorism experiment I couldn't believe. But hey, lets avoid all that, and just get caught up, watching Snipes kick arse, in this not badly made, by very cheesy flick. An addictive cheese at that.

"Always bet on black." Average 90's action flick.

[poolandrews · 5/10 · 24 September 2007]

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.

Solid action flick

[phsbb08 · 10/10 · 31 January 2019]

I personally can not shut this flick off when it is on. From the great one liners, all star cast, and non stop action , it has it all in my opinion.

Passengers

[questl-18592 · 6/10 · 30 January 2021]

This was a fun, if slightly forgettable experience. Wesley Snipes was a delight back in the day and seeing him chasing down some classic European and brilliant bad guy was terribly amusing. Beyond that this was a pretty by the numbers movie though, it doesn't really venture anything new or break ground in any way. The biggest surprise was really how little time is spent on the plane. A movie called Passenger 57 would have me thinking it predominantly took place aboard a plane and that's not really how it went, to my recollection. Still, it was fun and a solid enough experience. Can't say it's a must watch for anyone but if it happens to be on it's worth checking out.

Wow. That was bad.

[craig-686 · 2/10 · 19 August 2007]

"Everyone in the room is dumber having seen it." -Almost a Billy Madison quote. This movie is dumber than dumb. Three hijackers "stroll away" unnoticed from the airplane? The FBI suddenly taking their orders from Wesley? Wesley runs around in a turtle neck, with a sweater on top, and a leather jacket... while all the people around him are wearing T-shirts!(see carnival scene) Stupid people, doing stupid things, to further the plot of a stupid movie. I could go on for days about the stupidity involved(plane fuselage crumbling while passengers "woot"). Instead, I will go work on my jetski...

Liz looks great and earned the movie an extra point in my book.