Review The 15:17 to Paris [2018] | loganbennett

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CNS/USCCB (J. Mulderig) review

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The 15:17 to Paris [2018] (directed thru Clint Eastwood, screenplay through Dorothy Blyskal

.based on the book [GR] [WCat] [Amzn] by Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, Spenser Stone and Jeffrey E. Stern [Atlantic] [GR][Amzn] [IMDb]) despite lackluster reviews (above) is thematically a quintessentialClint Eastwood directed movie (of this time):

For this is the story of three utterly average guys,Anthony Sadler,Alek Skarlatos,Spenser Stone in their early 20s, okay two of them were in the U.S. military, who knew each other since middle school (the three play themselves as adults, and Paul-Mikél Williams, Bryce Gheisar and William Jennings play them as tweens).  Near the end of a "reunion trip" of sorts --Stone, a male nurse serving in the U.S. Air Force was stationed in Portugal,Skarlatos took some R&R near the end of his Oregon Army National Guard tour in Afghanistan and together they convincedSadler, still in college, to "just get himself a credit card" and fly out to meet them in Italy -- while on the 15:17 train from Amsterdam to Paris on August 21, 2015, they found themselves suddenly present to nascent terrorist attack.

A young Moroccan man, Ayoub El Khazzani (played in the film by Ray Corasani), had entered one of the train's bathrooms with his suitcase, pulled-out the weapons / cartridges that he prepared, stepped-out of the bathroom and started shooting.  The first two passengers that he passed, tried to tackle him and one of them was shot / seriously wounded.  But then the three heroes in the film were present a little further down the first compartment that he had entered (and were actually sitting in the wrong part of the train -- they had "cheated," sneaking-up into 1st class to use the train's wifi ;-). THEY charged, tackled and disarmed him.  AndStone though himself somewhat wounded, since he was a nurse, was actually able to save the life of the passenger who first tried to tackle the assailant and had been shot by him.

It all made for A REMARKABLE STORY all the more so because the three really were utterly "regular people" who simply "stepped-up" BIG-TIME in a moment that they needed to.

Yes, a fair number of reviewers complained that the three's lives were perhaps _too average_, BUT THAT WAS CLEARLYClint Eastwood's point.  These were three regular guys who did EXACTLY THE RIGHT THING in the moment when they were called to do so.

And then honestly, to me, IT DIDN'T HURT THAT THE THREE WERE CHRISTIAN (perhaps even Catholic -- as one of them, again A TOTALLY "REGULAR GUY," liked praying the Prayer of Saint Francis -- "Lord make me an Instrument of your Peace...")

I loved the movie, applaudClint Eastwood's willingness to do it, and even in the way that he did it, with the three heroes simply playing themselves, and find the film's message VERY VERY NICE -- We all need to be prepared (and brave enough) to do the right thing at the right time when circumstances call us to "step up."

Excellent film / story!

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