The Great Train Robbery

Based on the novel by Michael Crichton, The Great Train Robbery follows Sean Connery’s Edward Pierce as he and Donald Sutherland’s Robert Agar as they conspire to steal a shipment of gold from a moving train. The Great Train Robbery does, much like the 1975 source material, tend to get bogged down in the small details regarding the titular heist, as writer/director Crichton delivers an almost episodic narrative that contains woefully little in the way of forward momentum – although, to be fair, the picture boasts a small handful of undeniably enthralling set-pieces that successfully sustain one’s interest (including a harrowing prison break and an attempt to steal a key from a busy station). It’s clear, too, that the movie benefits substantially from Connery and Sutherland’s exceedingly charismatic and magnetic performances, while the climax, which is full of how-did-they-do-that moments of jaw-dropping stuntwork, ensures that The Great Train Robbery ends on a palpable high note.

**1/2 out of ****