Main Cast: Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Lopez, Robert Blake, Chris Cooper
Release Year: 1995
Country: US
Run Time: 110 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A pair of New York City cops collaborate on a plan to rob a cash-packed subway train in this action-comedy. Charlie (Woody Harrelson) and John (Wesley Snipes) are not just co-workers and close friends but also foster brothers. Because of this family connection, the reluctant John becomes involved in the more capricious Charlie's far-fetched scheme to rob the "money train" that collects the subway's daily grosses. Charlie needs the money for gambling debts, and robbing the train would have the added benefit of angering Charlie's and John's harsh, corrupt boss Captain Patterson (Robert Blake). Romantic interest is provided by a fellow police officer (Jennifer Lopez) who sparks rivalry between the brothers, but the film's main interest is in the violent events that surround the attempted heist, which naturally proves more complicated than planned. The film attempts to capitalize on the chemistry between Snipes and Harrelson, who had previously had a hit comedy with White Men Can't Jump (1992), but Joseph Ruben's unexceptional direction and a bland screenplay by Doug Richardson and David Loughery make the film less distinctive than its predecessor. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
Joe Grifasi - Riley; Angel Caban - Decoy Cop; John Cenatiempo - Brown's Enforcer; Richard Grove - Motorman; Oni Faida Lampley - Dispatcher; Vincent Laresca - Subway Robber; Greg McKinney - Guard; Bill Nunn - Crash Train Motorman; Vincent Pastore - Gambler; Steve Randazzo - Guy at Bar; Jeremy Roberts - Guard; Ron Ryan - Gambler; Saul Stein - Brown's Enforcer; Aida Turturro - Woman on Platform; Nelson Vasquez - Subway Robber; Thomas G. Waites - Barricade Captain; Jack O'Connell - Dispatcher; Vincent Patrick - Bartender Frank; Moss Porter - Mickey; Sharon Schaffer - Token Clerk; Jose Soto - Hood; Christopher Anthony Young - Guard with Dooley; Mitch Kolpan - Guard; José Zuñiga - Victor; John Norman Thomas - Detective; Michael Artura - Second Captain; Scott Sowers - Mr. Brown
Credit
Dennis Bradford - Art Director, Sarah Knowles - Art Director, Russ Kavanaugh - Associate Producer, Francine Maisler - Casting, Doug Claybourne - Co-producer, Michael Steele - Co-producer, Ruth E. Carter - Costume Designer, Jack Gill - First Assistant Director, Terry J. Leonard - First Assistant Director, Michael Steele - First Assistant Director, Stephen Lee Davis - First Assistant Director, Joseph Ruben - Director, George Bowers - Editor, Bill Pankow - Editor, Adam Fields - Executive Producer, Tracy Barone - Executive Producer, Frederick Pierce - Executive Producer, Mark Mancina - Composer (Music Score), Laini Thompson - Makeup, Bill Groom - Production Designer, John Lindley - Cinematographer, Neil Canton - Producer, Jon Peters - Producer, Beth A. Rubino - Set Designer, James J. Sabat - Sound/Sound Designer, Jack Gill - Stunts, David Loughery - Screenwriter, Doug Richardson - Screenwriter, Ted Chu - First Assistant Camera, Danielle Hollowell - Costume/Wardrobe
The subway car used as the money train in the film is a modified R22 subway car. The rolling stock was modified by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and film crew into an imposing subway train covered in silver armor plating and equipped with flashing orange lights and sliding barred doors, like those on a jail cell. After production, the car was donated to the New York Transit Museum. The actual money train resembled a normal maintenance train painted yellow with black diagonal stripes. The New York City subway system retired its money trains in 2006; the introduction of the MetroCard and computerized vending machines that allowed fare payment by credit card have dramatically reduced the number of coins stored in subway stations.
Reception
The film took in $35,431,113 at the North American box office, including $10,608,297 on its opening weekend.[2] With a budget at an estimated $68,000,000, the film was a huge box office bomb.[3] It was very poorly received by film critics[4], described by one reviewer as "a loud and truly pointless action-comedy".[5]
In addition to its middling reviews, the film was vilified for its portrayal of a man robbing a ticket booth by running a rubber tube around the bulletproof partition and dousing the attendant with an unknown flammable liquid, then threatening to set them on fire. This crime was repeated in real life after the film's release, although the police did not think the similar crime was related to the film. Nevertheless, many people including Bob Dole called for a boycott of the film.[6][7]
