Clint... Clint, Clint, Clint, Clint... Mr. Eastwood, what was this? I understand the concept of this film was interesting, but did you read the script before stamping your name on the project? I mean that's honestly what it feels like. And I wasn't expecting these heroes to be good actors necessarily, but handing them this sack of garbage to commemorate the defining moment of their lives? Like you're kicking them while they're down man, it's really not cool. Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos, Anthony Sadler, I sincerely thank you for your actions on that fateful day. Potentially sacrificing your lives in order to save a trainful of people is incredibly heroic and seemingly movie-worthy. It reminds me of the old morality question as to whether you would push someone in front of a train in order to save ten people. Truly, each of you might have jumped in front of the train yourselves and saved those folks and the world could use more selfless people like that. Unfortunately it was not the script writer jumping or Clint jumping in front of that train to not save innocent civilians, but to save your legacies. Unfortunately it will be remembered as a lazy, God-fearing Christian, right wing propaganda film that meanders way too much and feels ultimately pointless. Honestly, all that the majority of this film was good for was a good laugh. Hilariously awkward nonsensical small talk scenes with strangers, random non-sequiturs, trite themes, and more combine into an incredibly sloppy movie that I feel most people involved wanted nothing to do with - and there are some well-known names that cameo here! And the fact that the pro-war Spencer has a Full Metal Jacket poster, one of the most strictly anti-war films ever made, just adds to the fact that no one cared. And the fact that this movie is partially labeled as a thriller is pretty funny too because a lot of the scenes as the trio "backpack" through Europe are pretty relaxing. And speaking of Europe, was any of that footage really necessary? It felt more like a dad with a camcorder filming his family on a vacation rather than an actual professionally made movie that would premier in theaters across the country. It felt as if Clint took them to Rome and told them to just wander around and improvise because the people in the background were most definitely not extras, they were quite obviously tourists the way they looked at the camera. And if you really think about it, why was any of the Europe trip added anyways because it did not affect the end result whatsoever. Meeting a girl from LA and having lunch where they get Italian pizza and then gelato was not a keystone to this story! I couldn't care less if they met someone if it doesn't affect the story at all! Oh wait, I know why, you just needed enough filler to slap together 90 minutes of film, pretty much the shortest time required for a theatrical release. The only interesting technique was at the very end where the spliced the actual awards ceremony with the film crew, all the outfits were matched to a T and that whole scene was on point. Idk, anyways, I feel a good movie could have come out of this concept, but all this concept delivered was the second-hand embarrassment of this shotty attempt at memorializing three incredible young men. A pratfall on everyone's part.
Review of The 15:17 to Paris
