Impatto criminale

The entire movie is set in Flashback mode as an agent tells his superiors what happened in a Russian biochemical weapon terrorist transaction aboard a train that resulted in a huge folder of paperwork. The movie takes a while to get going, but once it does, you ride on the wave, and it doesn't get any faster than 2nd gear. Footage from the 1985 Eric Roberts' movie "Runaway Train" is used, and you kind of wish your were watching THAT movie instead. There is very little, if any, suspense, and it's a total waste of two hours. If you want to see this kind of story done well with edge-of-your-seat suspense, I'd recommend "Under Siege 2: Dark Territory" and "Atomic Train".

The film is OK. If it wasn't for Arnold Vosloo and the train scenes this film wouldn't have been a good one. Though I didn't think the nudity was needed but it seemed after that part the film really began. Vosloo put on a great performance and his Russian accent was really good. The other two villains were good and had big potential but the film never gave them a chance to be real bad guys. The music was really good and it could have been in a blockbuster film. Overall like I said the film after close to an hour or so the film really began after the nude scene with some good action especially the bald bad guy scene on top of the train. If you like Arnold Vosloo and train action then see this film soon!

Not a bad film as far as that goes, but anyone familiar with railroads and trains will be annoyed by the cavalier production values.

Obviously, a railroad consultant was not employed, and such a consultant's absence is wildly obvious - for examplpe, a living-room-sized cab mock-up many times the size of the cab of the featured locomotive, with engine controls that are wholly unrealistic, etc.

Of course, a non-railroad audience will be oblivious to this. Still, it's sad that a few of today's films, like "Con Express," are technically slipshod.

Con Express is a second rate action movie with first rate directon, acting and an effective score.

I 1st saw a screening of it at the Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuk, Michigan and then recently on it's DVD. This movie also has a good sense of humor and doesn't take itself too seriously. The direction of Terry Cunnigham is rather innovative considering the productions budgetary limitations. Sean Patrick Flanery is great and I've been a fan of his ever sine The Boondock Saints. And Arnold Vosloo is the villian. (That's right the Mummy from The Mummy, and also the much better Hard Target, directed by action-master John Woo) He's the world's most dangerous terrorist and he's just stolen some barrels of the deadly Saran gas. Flanery plays Alex Brooks a post Sept. 11th Alaskan Customs agent who catches Simconov (Vosloo) and confiscates the barrels of Saran. Brooks is accompanied by a female agent named Natalya (Ursula Karven) who is after Simconov for revenge after he bombed a federal building with her son inside. They get on a plane with Simconov in custody, but it isn't long before everything goes wrong. Simconov parachutes out of the plane and then it crashes. The only survivors are Brooks and Natalya. It's up to them to stop Simconov from retrieving the barrels of Saran, which are on a train guarded with Marines heading through the Canadian wilderness.

Lots of action, plenty of smiles and an overall worthwhile watch.

(Also B-Movie veteran Tim Thomerson of Trancers fame plays Brooks superior.)

"Con Express" is a fun flick.

The plot goes like this: Alex Brooks (Flanery) is an special agent assigned to bring down Anton Simeonov (Vosloo) who has a nuclear device. Brooks has to team up with another agent (Ursula Karven) when he gets double-crossed. The Cold War is back and it's heating up...

This is one of the last movies produced by PM entertainment. It looks like they spared no expense (except the stock footage of "Runaway Train"). The action scenes are well-shot. The stand-out is the gunfight in the cabin. Flanery, Karven, and Vosloo put in good performances for the silly material.

If you're looking for a good couch potato movie, "Con Express" should fit the bill.

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