Money Train (1995)

A vengeful New York City transit cop decides to steal a trainload of subway fares. His foster brother, a fellow cop, tries to protect him.

Director:

Joseph Ruben

Writers:

Doug Richardson (story), Doug Richardson (screenplay)

Stars:

Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Lopez

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Wesley Snipes	...	John
Woody Harrelson	...	Charlie Robinson
Jennifer Lopez	...	Grace Santiago
Robert Blake	...	Donald Patterson
Chris Cooper	...	Torch
Joe Grifasi	...	Riley
Scott Sowers	...	Mr. Brown
Skipp Sudduth	...	Kowalski
Vincent Laresca	...	Subway Robber
Nelson Vasquez	...	Subway Robber
Vincent Patrick	...	Frank the Bartender
Aida Turturro	...	Woman on Platform
Alvaleta Guess	...	Woman on Platform
Vincent Pastore	...	Gambler
David Tawil	...	Gambler

Storyline

Two foster brothers work as transit cops. While one's life is as good as it gets, the other's is a pit. After losing his job, getting dumped by his brother, and getting the crap kicked out of him by a loan shark for the umpteenth time, He implements his plan to steal the "money train," a train carrying the New York Subway's weekly revenue. But when things go awry, will his brother be able to save him in time?

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Plot Keywords:

train | subway | loan shark | new year's eve | runaway train | 

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Taglines:

Get on, or GET OUT THE WAY!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive strong language, violence and a sex scene

Details

Official Sites:

Awful Movies Wiki

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 November 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Asalto al tren del dinero

Filming Locations:

John Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$68,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$35,324,232

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$77,224,232

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation,Peters Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 105 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John's (Wesley Snipes') handgun is a Glock 19.

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Goofs

Although nobody is changing the power settings on either train (the B train's driver is maintaining full speed and nobody is at the controls of the money train), for no reason the money train surges forward to collide forcefully with the B train six separate times, artificially creating the need for a device to stop the repeated collisions. Also, they occur at varying time intervals, artificially allowing time for the solution to be carried out.

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Quotes

Grace Santiago: [to Charlie] Should we break this up? They're tuggin' at his collar for dear life over there.

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Connections

Referenced in Nine Dead (2010)

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Soundtracks

Nuevo Dia
Written by Kike Santander
Performed by Gloria Estefan
Courtesy of Epic Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

Quality cast make the most of a plot that is beneath them

Action is an interesting film genre. You go in expecting little and are pleasantly surprised if you get more. Films like Face/Off, Die Hard, Speed, Under Siege, while formulaic, were all able to offer the viewer more than they expected going in and so have become beloved classics of the genre. The Money Train tries to be more than a lot of the action films that came out and simply disappeared in the early 90s, but falls a little short. While the film certainly isn't bad, it isn't considered a classic of the genre, and, while not a financial failure, relatively few people saw it and even fewer remember it.

The film reunites the stars of White Men Can't Jump, Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes as a pair of law enforcement officers John (Snipes) and Charlie (Harrelson) who basically decide to steal from their boss (Robert Blake) who is a real piece of work. John has a hot girlfriend Grace (a pre Selena Jennifer Lopez) and Charlie has a gambling problem. Sound familiar? There are some funny moments and the dramatic scenes between Snipes and Harrelson are excellent. But aside from these, there really aren't any memorable moments. While the pairing of Snipes and Harrelson isn't tired, it doesn't have the same impact it had on their previous outing. Blake is menacing and odious but his character is not a believable or effective villain. Chris Cooper, who has a smaller role in this as Torch, would have been a better antagonist.

Money Train is OK and a reasonably entertaining way to spend a couple of hours, but it is also a missed opportunity. Snipes, Lopez, Harrelson and Blake try hard, but the finished product is less than the sum of its parts, and that's possibly the most frustrating thing of all.