Reviews are in, Clint Eastwood’s “15:17 to Paris” is a slow-burning masterpiece.
The movie tells the true story of three American heroes who took down a terrorist on a Parisian train. The leads are played by the heroes themselves, a risky decision that pays off in spades.
Each of the young men have been praised for their acting chops. Viewers have an extra-strong reaction to the movie’s action scenes because they know that they’re seeing something almost real.
“And I will say, it starts slowly and it’s totally not what you expect. Nevertheless, if you’re patient with it, you quickly realize several things. First of, the real guys are not bad,” writes one reviewer.
Reviewer Roger Friedman notes that the movie pulses with “patriotic” and “Christian energy.
“I don’t know if “15:17” will one day be considered great art– I consider ‘Unforgiven’ and ‘Gran Torino great art– or an interesting experiment,” Friedman writes.
“But it’s well worth paying attention to. Eastwood obviously saw a lot in these guys– two of them as children are thought to have ADD, they’re screw-ups, etc. And in the end, maybe with prayer, with military training and maturity, they reacted in a moment and made America proud, and themselves proud.”
Mainstream media critics will probably try to dismiss the story. Heroes standing up to bad guys is classic popcorn fare, but the war on terror is a touchy subject for a lot of liberals.
Eastwood is one of the few conservatives in Hollywood.
“And as for Clint– he’s eighty-seven years old. This list of films in his ninth decade is utterly remarkable. This is the sixth movie he’s directed in eight years… there’s an extreme brilliance to his lean, mean execution of stories he knows will resonate in the heartland. Very, very cool,” Friedman continues.
(Source: Showbiz 411)