Night Train (2023) Review

Night Train is a 2023 crime action movie directed by Shane Stanley. Stanley is a filmmaker who specializes in mid budget TV and direct to video/streaming products of the action variety, in fact, Night Train and his previous movie titled Double Thread (2022) were both action vehicles for actress Danielle C. Ryan (Fire City: End of Days, Survivor) and both flicks were written by CJ Walley. 

This poster is a total lie by the way.

Holly (Danielle C. Ryan) is a single mother in Hollywood working for the teamsters who finds herself delivering black market medical supplies to meet ends, normally she works in movie productions and barely makes a living to support her sick son. FBI agents soon catch up to her, among them the disheveled and troubled agent Jaylynne Jackson (Diora Baird), so Holly must evade them in order to give her child a brighter future.

The definition of a soporific TV movie of the week destined to become streaming service filler without much interest. I cant says it's a horribly made movie, it's a watchable and slightly more genuine product than average but none of that redeems the overabundance of cliches, idiotic moments, weak comedy, flat direction and lack of a strong central conflict that could bring everything together, at least a functioning one. 

There's nothing truly special about the main character, there's a very light attempt at trying to give her interesting characteristics like a love for speed, but none of that comes handy or goes anywhere other than the fact that she has to drive a lot in the last act. Danielle delivers a good performance and simply does what's needed, nothing particularly notable. 

The rest of the characters are also plain but Jackson is actually the most refreshing out of all of them, simply because instead of just being a tough and harsh FBI agent she is also dealing with an alcohol addiction and a messy personal life, issues that end up affecting her job. It's not an aspect that the film builds substantially upon, aside from the overly dramatic climax, but one can also appreciate it for being a worthwhile addition to the formula.  

It's also better if you don't think of Night Train as an action movie, not even in the early The Fast and the Furious sense, because this is more of a chase movie in the third act with small glimpses of crime movie tropes and scenes here and there. 

Stale and cheap (both narratively and budget wise) this one is really only for completists. While there is potential and talent I believe there needed to be more exciting plot beats and to give into the tropes of the genre instead of trying to ground it into a honestly uneventful plot. Even though I would have wanted a straight action movie, I can still appreciate the feminist attitude, the dimensions added to the female FBI agent, the solution to the conflict without violence and the low key scenes that actually end up working but it's not something I could consider solid enough to recommend.