The 15:17 to Paris – 4K UHD Blu-ray Movie Review

This is the story of three Americans who prevented a terrorist massacre on a train bound for Paris from Amsterdam.

Although marketed as an action adventure, The 15:17 to Paris is really a biography and character study of three friends who grew up to be unexpected heroes when they thwarted a terrorist plan to kill as many people as he could on a train from Brussels to Paris.

It isn’t until more than an hour into the film that the real action starts. The early part of the movie is about the three young men growing up. All three spent a lot of time in the principal’s office at school and they began to bond as they grew up.

Eastwood cast the actual men to play themselves in the film and while that could have been disastrous, Eastwood is a capable enough director to have gotten good performances from them. Where the film falls short is in the structure. The incident on the train, which really should be the main subject of the film, only takes a few minutes. The rest of the film is all prelude, with a few quick flash forwards to the taking out of the terrorist and those scenes are gripping and well done.

Overall, I enjoyed the film and Eastwood of late seems to be attracted to real life stories, such as Sully and American Sniper. Frankly, I prefer the realism to the over the top super hero movies that seem to appear in theaters in increasing numbers these days.

If you are expecting a frenetic shoot ‘em up, The 15:17 to Paris probably will not satisfy. But as a character study that goes behind the action, I think Eastwood has made a fine film.

Shot digitally, The 15:17 to Paris looks gorgeous. It’s a reference quality transfer with brilliant colors and fine detail. I’m not setup for Atmos but listened to the 7.1 mix, which was quite compelling. Environmental sounds were realistic and when deep bass was called for the soundtrack delivered. Potential buyers should note that the audio defaults to the DTS 5.1 track, so if you have a higher end processor and speaker configuration, be sure to switch to the Atmos or 7.1 mix.

The 15:17 to Paris: Making Every Second Count (1080p; 1.78:1; 8:11) A feature about the details of making the movie and how it was shot on a moving train.

The 15:17 to Paris: Portrait of Courage (1080p; 1.78:1; 12:27): This extra is about the three men who starred in the movie who were the actual heroes and what there life was like after the incident.

There is no trailer for the film and no commentary from Director Eastwood which would have been a nice addition.