The racial tension exists elsewhere in the film, too. What could be seen as just another arrogant baiting attempt by Rayne is actually an admission of the entire film's subtext. He's John Cutter, Black Man, trapped in a system that marginalizes and mistrusts him. brother? You're used to being taken advantage of." It's amazing how much that "brother," thrown in almost as an afterthought by the character, immediately makes the scene uncomfortable by explicitly acknowledging what was previously only implied: Snipes isn't just John Cutter, passenger 57. He didn't always do a great job, though, especially when Rayne pretty much comes right out and says a line to Cutter like "That's the American way, isn't it. was looking for, of course, so director Kevin Hooks had to sneak a lot of it in. In fact, that's pretty much exactly what the movie comes close to being in its best moments: a cheaper, cruder version of a big-budget Hollywood success, only this time with a black actor. It has an energy and a point of view reminiscent of the blaxploitation films of the '70s. Turns out it just makes him boring.Īnd, yet, because of his extreme Europeanness, his blonde hair and his blue eyes, there exists a kind of Aryan tension between Rayne and Cutter, and it's that undercurrent of race that sets the movie ever-so-slightly apart from other action movies of the era. Payne approaches his villain as though making him cold is enough to make him scary. Unfortunately, neither Payne nor his character seem to be having any fun, and that's one of the requirements of being a great action movie villain you don't have to ham it up (though many do), but you have to seem like you enjoy being evil and or/dangerous. He's cold and deadpan and speaks with an accent, and that's supposed to be enough to make him seem like a threat. He appears to have been cast because he is British - the sole resource he falls back on throughout the entirety of the movie. Part of the downfall of Passenger 57 is that the villain, played by Bruce Payne (of No Contest II and Highlander: Endgame), is such a weak imitation of Hans Gruber that he doesn't give Wesley Snipes anything to go up against. Even with all the extra carnival-based padding, the movie only lasts 84 minutes. It couldn't have sustained its full running time just by having Cutter alternate between hiding in steerage and hiding in the bathroom. In that respect, the movie is pretty smart to keep things moving around. The formula of the Die Hard knock off was already stretching credibility at this point, and the idea of " Die Hard on a plane" seemed to be stretching it to its breaking point - there just isn't enough physical space to make that scenario work (though, to be fair, Executive Decision does a pretty awesome job, but that's a very different movie and not really a Die Hard imitation). The the bad guy (SPOILERS) gets off the plane one last time, only this time it's in mid-flight.ĭespite all of this on-again, off-again business (it's like a Kate Hudson movie, but with way more face kicking), Passenger 57 is smart to not try and take place entirely on a single plane. Then the bad guy gets back on, and then Snipes gets back on so he can be Passenger 57 again. Then the plane lands (SPOILERS) and Snipes gets off so the movie can become Die Hard at a carnival for about 10 minutes. There's a fairly long setup to get Wesley Snipes on board, followed by about 30 minutes of plane action. There's just ONE THING THEY DIDN'T COUNT ON.įor a movie that's basically Die Hard on a plane, not much of Passenger 57 takes place on the actual plane. So, Cutter boards flight 163 to start his new career - but, wouldn't you know it, the flight is also carrying renowned terrorist Charles Rayne, who seizes control of the airplane with the help of his crew and holds the passengers hostage in exchange for his freedom. He's off the force and works now as a security adviser to airlines when he's offered a job by his old friend Sly Delvecchio (Tom Sizemore, who seems like a slimy villain even when he's playing a good guy best friend part) heading up an anti-terrorism unit for an airline in Los Angeles. Wesley Snipes stars as John Cutter, a former police officer still haunted by the murder of his wife. It's the seat number that changes all the rules. But the stream of rip-offs didn't end there, instead trickling down until it had reached perhaps its silliest iteration: the Die-Hard-on-an-airplane movie Passenger 57. Last week, I talked about Under Siege and Sudden Death, two of the better Die Hard imitators to appear in the wake of the best action movie ever made.
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