Con Express Reviews

For viewers who couldn't get enough of CON AIR (1997), here's "Con Rail," a formulaic action thriller in which Russian rogues use a runaway train to steal bio-toxins. The film starts with Commissioner Dunn (Michael Kagen) and FBI Agent Roe (John Patrick McCormack) interviewing customs cop officer Alex Brooks (Sean Patrick Flanery) for a top secret mission, then flashes back at regular intervals to his previous assignment. Tipped off by a snitch, Brooks and his team intercepted a Russian-mob shipment of nerve gas. After apprehending ringleader Anton Simeonov (Arnold Vosloo), Brooks and his squad got caught in a turf war with NSA specialist O'Shea (Scott Subiono) and shady Kremlin agent Natalya (Ursula Karven). O'Shea hassled Brooks for interfering in his operation and demanded custody of Simeonov; Natalya made a similar claim for the KGB. Undermined by his own superior, Bill Barnes (Tim Thomerson), Brooks found himself delegated to the status of Simeonov's airborne escort. Meanwhile, Simeonov's stolen biotoxins were loaded onto a train headed for Washington, D.C. During the flight, Simeonov's spies staged a daring escape, sabotaging the aircraft and parachuting to safety. Brooks and Natalya survived the crash landing, stopped squabbling and concentrated on stopping Simeonov from reclaiming his biological weapons. Simeonov and his minions, meanwhile, hijacked the train. In the present, Brooks concludes by explaining to Roe and Dunn how he saved the day. The stunt crew earn their pay in this action-packed exercise in unorthodox heroics. Unfortunately, the excitement is undermined by a screenplay that crosscuts between hopped-up flashbacks to colorless present-day scenes.