Money Train

Starring: Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Lopez, Robert Blake, Chris Cooper, Joe Grifasi, Vincent Pastore, Dean Norris
Directed by: Joseph Ruben
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Comedy
1995

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Two police officer foster brothers (Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson) run afoul of the transit captain (Robert Blake) who oversees the money train that carries all the transit income.

Review:

Tim: This is undoubtedly counterintuitive, but I kind of liked Money Train because it's such a mess of a film. I really struggled even writing that summary. What is this movie about? Is it about the foster brothers and their contentious relationship? Is it about two cops trying to track down a serial killer who torches his victims? Is it a heist movie about robbing a money train? A love triangle movie? It's all these things and none of it makes a whole lot of sense, but it does bring a certain element of entertainment to the proceedings.

So, I mostly enjoyed Money Train except when I didn't. The film did get pretty harsh reviews from nearly all critics, and they aren't wrong. I thought this was a decent movie, but a heavily flawed one. It's the kind of film that exists in the middle to me. It's far too weak to be a good movie, but it's far from a bad film. It's decent but problematic.

As mentioned, the script feels like it's all over the place. There were multiple movies crammed together here. The idea of two transit cops hunting down a serial killer who burns his victims alive is a tremendous idea. It felt like that could have been its own movie. The idea of robbing a money train is also an exciting concept and it could have been a movie on its own. There wasn't a whole lot of need to have both of these ideas present in the same film. When you add in the love triangle, the gambling debts, it just starts to feel like a lot. The movie is probably a tad long at 1 hour, 50 minutes, but it's honestly impressive how much was crammed into this film. I really feel like the majority of this film's problems come from the script. It's just all over the place and it badly needed more focus. Joseph Ruben is an average director, but is certainly capable of solid movies. The cast is really strong. It all comes down to a rotten script that hurts the movie.

I really did like the cast. It was fun to see Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson reunite after White Men Can't Jump. That movie was decent (like this one) but it featured some great back-and-forth banter between Snipes and Harrelson. They have obvious on screen chemistry and that translated to these characters. The idea of them being foster brothers is fine, but it's a bit forced. What helps immensely is the sense that these two men are comfortable with each other. That chemistry makes it feel like these two grew up together and have a close (although combative) relationship. Snipes and Harrelson work so well together. They leverage their differences as actors to bring these characters to life. Snipes is so good in this kind of action role and Harrelson is so comfortable playing the lovable scoundrel. It's legitimately fun watching these two work.

I liked the casting of Jennifer Lopez as well. I thought she worked well with both Snipes and Harrelson. I wish her character had a bit more to do, but she gets a few moments to shine. It's an early career role but she shows enough talent here to make it understandable how she became such a big star. I enjoyed her performance here. Robert Blake was wonderful in his antagonistic role. It was fun seeing Chris Cooper in a small role here. It didn't utilize his talent, but he makes the movie better. I enjoyed seeing Dean Norris in a pre-Breaking Bad role. As a whole, the cast was strong.

I definitely understand why critics disliked Money Train. They aren't really wrong. This is a flawed movie. However, the cast is effective and there's something fun about the messy script. I didn't mind watching it at all. While I couldn't quite get myself to really like the movie, it got pretty close.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: White Men Can't Jump, Money Talks