Transsiberian - Mostly 'hit' (with a little bit of 'miss')

'Transsiberian' is one of those odd sorts of films that tries to be a little too much and never succeeds at any - one - thing.  Now, that's normally enough for me to not really enjoy a film and never really want to see it again. 'Transsiberian' is certainly not perfect and it is - in my opinion - a bit all over the place.  However, there's just enough that it does right to deserve more than just the one watch (currently, I've seen it twice, but that figure will rise over the years).

A young couple (Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer) finish doing their bit for their church in a foreign country and decide to take more of a 'romantic/scenic' route across Russia to Europe, with a view to returning to America after that.  However, during their train ride they come up against more than one shady character and a certain amount of drugs and ill-gotten money may be involved.

There's nothing too inspiring about the plot, but what keeps the film afloat is the cast.  For a start, you could probably - just about - argue that Harrelson is the star and you may expect him to play some sort of hard case, borderline psycho.  However, he's possibly one of the biggest wimps ever on screen - if you're familiar with his other roles then this in itself is worth a watch!  Emily Mortimer, despite playing his 'church wife' is just a little bit more of a 'bad girl' than your average leading lady.  Her - slightly - 'dark' past is often referenced and allows her character to be just that little bit more relatable to us 'normies!'

But, if you've seen any of the marketing material surrounding 'Transsiberian' then you'll know that none other than the - always excellent - Sir Ben Kingsley is on the cast list.  He plays the tough, no nonsense Russian cop (with a near flawless accent).  However, if you're expecting him to be in it all the way through, don't get your hopes up.  This is one of the reasons I find the film a little uneven.  The first half is mainly taken up with our protagonists meeting another young couple on the trains, whereas the second half allows Sir Ben to shine and the other couple kind of take a major backseat.

But, Kingsley is - as usual - a joy to watch and makes up for his first half absence with every scene he's in.  Earlier, I referred to Harrelson as the 'star' and yet he's notable not in the film for a large chunk of screen times, meaning the story chops and changes between who it focuses on.

Although, those are just minor gripes when you have a decent portion of the film that allows Ben Kingsley to savour his role as the Russian inquisitor.  If you're a fan of his then you'll definitely enjoy it all the more.  But, if you're generally looking for a thriller with enough twists and turns that you might not see coming, this should do the trick.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that