The 1990s were an interesting time for the entertainment industry overall, as it was mostly influenced by the trends and innovations of the preceding decade. The movie industry was particularly affected, as 1987’s Lethal Weapon and 1988’s Die Hard helped redefine action movies of the following decade. The formula most action movies of the ’90s relied on usually involved a hero, typically a cop or an army veteran, who takes down an entire terrorist cell or organization and saves the day. Admittedly, the formula worked, and it produced some of the greatest action hits in cinema history.
However, filmmakers began toying with the formula to see what does and does not work, so they began playing with various factors. Thus, Nakatomi Plaza soon became a bus (a reference to 1994’s Speed) or a plane. You wouldn’t believe the amount of movie action taking place on planes, such as 1996’s Executive Decision with Kurt Russell, 1997’s Con Air with Nicolas Cage and John Malkovich, and 1997’s Air Force One with Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman. And then, there’s 1992’s Passenger 57 — a cultural landmark that propelled Wesley Snipes into the pantheon of ’90s action stars.
The movie itself follows the previously mentioned formula and has everything necessary for an action movie to succeed: a tough but charismatic protagonist, a matching antagonist, and plenty of memorable action-flick one-liners paired with some well-staged action moves. Passenger 57 was Wesley Snipes’ first action role, which turned out to be a natural fit for him, given that he was already an established martial artist with several black belts in various disciplines.
He took on the role of John Cutter, a widowed law enforcement veteran (because of course), whose distinguished career spanned from being a respected police officer to a dependable Secret Service agent. After the heartbreaking loss of his wife, Cutter is offered the vice presidency role for an antiterrorism unit at Atlantic International Airlines, where he also trains flight attendants in self-defense. Reluctantly stepping into the role, he embodies the quintessential ’90s action hero — a skilled professional who needs a push to embrace a job tailor-made for his expertise.
Cutter boards as the 57th passenger on a flight to Los Angeles, which just so happens to also transport two FBI agents escorting an international terrorist, Charles Rane — again, because the FBI in movies uses commercial flights to escort dangerous criminals from one location to another. Whatever the case may be, this villain was not to be trifled with, and he perfectly matched Snipes’ John Cutter. Bruce Payne’s Charles Rane was cold, calculated, and ruthless. In true movie fashion, he already had his henchmen posing as flight attendants on the plane, ready to bust him out.
After the flight takes off, the henchmen kill the FBI agents, release the boss, and take over the plane. Cutter, who was in the lavatory at the time, uses an on-board phone to notify his company boss about the situation. The movie then goes on with its story and concludes with Cutter kicking Rane out of the plane into the night sky at 35,000 feet. This is all pretty standard stuff we’ve gotten accustomed to seeing, so why exactly is Passenger 57 so good, and why is it one of Snipes’ best movies?
Well, despite its formulaic story, the movie benefits from a pacey length, thus eliminating the need to create elaborate backstories for its characters, because we want to know how and why bad guys turned bad. We want to see their behinds handed to them by the good guys. This also means that the movie remains entertaining for the most part, with carefully planned action sequences that don’t rely too much on massive set pieces due to the nature of their setting.
Most of the combat is hand-to-hand because you want to avoid firing a weapon in a compressed metal capsule that’s an airplane, which is a slight nod to realism amidst all the action in the movie. Both Snipes and Payne did a fantastic job with their respective roles, both taking charismatic turns in the move. What’s even more impressive is that the entire movie was filmed on a $15 million budget, and even though some corners were cut to cut costs, it didn’t subtract from the entertainment value of the movie.
Passenger 57 ended up being a critical failure of a film, but the audiences loved it, and it was a commercial hit. It opened at number one rank in more than 1,700 theaters, grossing more than $10 million during its opening weekend. The movie grossed a worldwide total of $66 million and some change and now stands as one of the films that launched Snipes’ career in the action genre and a direct cause for his casting in other features, including 1993’s Demolition Man, 1995’s Money Train, and 1998’s Blade.
Passenger 57 is a really enjoyable flick filled with action, humor, and great one-liners, and it’s arguably one of Wesley Snipes’s finest works. And sure, he has other great movies like Blade and White Men Can’t Jump under his belt. But I’m willing to die on this hill, and I’ll always bet on black.Â