Passenger 57

Directed by Kevin Hooks, Passenger 57 follows security consultant John Cutter (Wesley Snipes) as he’s forced to spring into action after his flight is taken over by a band of terrorists (led by Bruce Payne’s nefarious Charles Rane). It’s an irresistibly high-concept premise that’s employed to compulsively watchable effect by Hooks, as the filmmaker, working from a script by David Loughery and Dan Gordon, delivers a briskly paced (yet undeniably dated) thriller that’s been jam-packed with exciting, memorable action set-pieces – including several violent hand-to-hand fights aboard the aircraft and an entertainingly ludicrous sequence in which Snipes’ character boards a moving airplane via the landing gear. There’s little doubt, as well, that Passenger 57 benefits substantially from Snipes’ expectedly stirring turn as the down-to-earth protagonist, while Payne does an equally effective job of stepping into the shoes of his incredibly, appreciatively smug villain (and it’s clear, too, that the strong supporting cast provides able color around the margins of the proceedings). And although the picture does suffer from a few lulls here and there, Passenger 57 is, at less than 90 minutes, an engaging actioner that doesn’t overstay its welcome in the slightest and, as a bonus, features the best one-liner of Snipes’ career (“always bet on black!”)

*** out of ****