''Con Express'' is a 2002

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

with a

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

edge, starring by

Arnold Vosloo Arnold Vosloo (born 16 June 1962) is a South African-American actor. He is famous for roles such as Imhotep in ''The Mummy'' and ''The Mummy Returns'', Colonel Coetzee in ''Blood Diamond'', Pik van Cleef in ''Hard Target'', Dr. Peyton Westlake ...

Sean Patrick Flanery Sean Patrick Flanery (born October 11, 1965) is an American actor, author, and martial artist. He is known for playing Connor MacManus in ''The Boondock Saints'' (1999) and its sequel '' The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day'' (2009), Greg Sti ...

, and

Tim Thomerson Joseph Timothy "Tim" Thomerson (born April 8, 1946) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Jack Deth in the ''Trancers'' film series and for his work in numerous low-budget features and for his comedic television r ...

. It was written by Paul A. Birkett and Terry Cunningham and directed by Cunningham. The movie uses film

footage In filmmaking and video production, footage is raw, unedited material as originally filmed by a movie camera or recorded by a ( often special) video camera, which typically must be edited to create a motion picture, video clip, television show or ...

from

Runaway Train A runaway train is a type of railroad incident in which unattended rolling stock is accidentally allowed to roll onto the main line, a moving train loses enough braking power to be unable to stop in safety, or a train operates at unsafe speeds d ...

(1985) and

Cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...

(1993).

Plot

US Customs agent Alex Brooks uncovers the plot of Russian arms dealers who planned to smuggle nerve gas into the U.S. In order to avoid publicity, the boss of the small customs station in Alaska decides that the dangerous barrels should be sent to a safe compound by train. Meanwhile, a Russian General turned terrorist who is responsible for the smuggling, Simeonov, is being delivered via plane to Washington until a group of his henchmen rescue him. Brooks and the Russian agent Natalya are the only people capable of stopping Simeonov and his group of terrorists from keeping control of the train carrying the deadly nerve gas.

Cast

as Agent Alex Brooks *

as General Anton Simeonov *

Ursula Karven Ursula Karven, previously Ursula Karven-Veres (born Ursula Ganzenmüller 17 September 1964 in Ulm) is a German actress, writer, model and yoga instructor. Career Karven made her big screen debut in 1984, at age 20, with the participation in f ...

as Agent Natalya *

Eyal Podell Eyal Podell (; he, אייל פודל; born November 11, 1975) is an Israeli-American actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his portrayals of Professor Adrian Korbel in the soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'', Evram Mintz in '' Defy ...

as Rudy * David Lea as Mironov *

Joel West Joel West (born April 6, 1975) is an American actor and model. Biography His mother, Jan Gipple, is a veterinary technician. She and his father, Rob West, divorced in 1989. He was discovered by a photographer at a "Dairy Queen" and he has worked ...

as Zednik *

as Bill Barnes * Ed Cameron as Leon *

Michael Kagan Michael Kagan is an American actor. Career He has guest starred in number of notable television series, including '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', ''Babylon 5'', '' Step by Step'', ''Seinfeld'', '' ER'', '' Tracey Takes On. ...

as Commissioner Dunn * J. Patrick McCormack as Agent Rowe (as John Patrick McCormack) *

Rodney Eastman Rodney Eastman (born July 20, 1967) is a Canadian actor best known for his role of Joey Crusel in '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors'' and '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master''. He is also a musician in a band named Kin ...

as Ricky * Chato as Sanchez * Michael Flynn as Jeffreys * Frank Gerrish as Bruno * Alisa Harris as Lola * Stevie Johnson as Jensen * Sean Marble as Jesse * Steve O'Neill as Colonel Bennett * Dave Shipp as Razvan * Scott Subiono as O'Shea * Lance C. Williams as Carl

Reception

''Comeuppance Reviews'' gave it three stars and stated: "This is one of the last movies produced by PM entertainment. It looks like they spared no expense (except the stock footage of Runaway Train, 1985). The action scenes are well-shot. The stand-out is the gunfight in the cabin. Flanery, Karven, and Vosloo put in good performances for the silly material." Robert Pardi from

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

gave the film two out of five stars and wrote: "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."

References

External links

* 2002 films American action films Artisan Entertainment films CineTel Films films 2002 action films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{2000s-US-film-stub