Review: The 15:17 to Paris

Last week Darling Hubby and I went to see Clint Eastwood's movie, The 15:17 to Paris.

Of course, we knew it was based on the real-life event in which 3 ordinary men thwarted a terrorist attach on a high-speed rail trip to Paris.

We wanted to see the movie because we both love stories of ordinary people who do extraordinary things.

I also wanted to see this film to see how Mr. Eastwood brought this story to the big screen--especially when he actually used the 3 heroic young men at the center of the action.

The movie is based on the autobiography The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Soldiers by Jeffrey E. Stern, Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos.

How The Movie Unfolds

The movie started when the danger on the train started. Then the story went back to each man's childhood. Present day was intercut with the past to show why those 3 men became the men they are. From difficult childhood to sometimes struggling adulthood, the story unfolds.

By structuring the movie that way, the viewer gets to see these guys are just ordinary people--struggling to make something of themselves and find their way in a challenging world. They worked hard from childhood on and held fast to their friendship, their mothers who believed in them, strong faith in God, and sheer determination to never give up.

August 21, 2015

The 3 young men--Anthony Sadler, Oregon National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos, and U.S. Air Force Airman First Class Spencer Stone--took the Thalys train #9364 to Paris.

The Book on Which the Movie is based.

On the train, everything is fine it seems. Passengers waiting for one of the restrooms knock on the door, and a terrorist comes out with an automatic rifle. Chaos and panic ensue. A passenger actually seizes the gun from him, but the terrorist pulls another gun and shoots him and retrieves his AR.

Passengers flee and try to get away. The terrorist pursues, moving into the car where Spencer and his friends are seated. In a split second, Spencer decides their only chance for survival is to seize the gun.

I won't tell you the rest of the action, but the fight is brutal--a true life and death struggle. The terrorist had over 300 rounds of ammunition. There wouldn't have been anyone left alive if he hadn't been stopped.

In a formal ceremony, Spencer and his friends were recognized as heroes of the French Republic for their gallantry and bravery. Spencer received the French Legion of Honour.

Takeaway Truth

To sum up the premise of this movie, I'll quote Edmund Burke who said: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." I think all people should heed those words.