Luke Vaughn works in a Casino run by his old friend, the much feared Francis ‘The Pope’ Silva. Vaughn’s daughter is bed ridden and in need of surgery, which he is unable to afford and out of desperation, agrees to rob Silva’s casino along with an impulsive Jason Cox who works at the Casino too. They execute their plan, but their getaway is botched and they end up hijacking Bus 657 with hostages – a move that triggers events with dire consequences, which the rest of the movie details.
Language:
English
Running Time:
93 min
Rating:
A
Release date:
18 March 2016
Directed by:
Scott Mann
Produced by:
Randall Emmett
George Furla
Wayne Marc Godfrey
Alexander Tabrizi
Stephen Cyrus Sepher
Written by:
Stephen Cyrus Sepher
Max Adams
Starring:
Robert De Niro
Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Dave Bautista
Kate Bosworth
Morris Chestnut
Gina Carano
Mark-Paul Gosselaar
Music by:
James Edward
Barker
Tim Despic
Shot by:
Brandon Cox
Editing by:
Robert Dalva
Distributed by:
Lionsgate Premiere

What’s Hot

  • Luke Vaughn’s character is played out quite effectively by Jeffrey Dean Morgan who shows a level head while trying to even out the high octane and hasty actions from Batista. His interactions with Silva before and after the heist are well done and enjoyable. As a desperate father trying to save his daughter, Morgan’s emotions are convincing too!
  • The maverick performance of Robert de Niro as Francis ‘The Pope’ Silva adds a layer of perfection to the character which is not well defined as it should have been. But de Niro makes up for it and turns the character into a menacing one with his inimitable style and impeccable dialogue delivery.

What’s Not

  • The story clearly lacks elements of innovation as the plot of a heist and hijack are pretty ordinary. This makes the movie look outdated especially with the way everything including the heist, the hijack and the negotiations are made look so easy, simple and nothing more than clichéd rehashes of other famous movies from the genre.
  • The glaring holes in the logical reasoning behind many of the events featured in the screenplay are tough to forget such as the commanding officer calling for a mindless and dangerous S.W.A.T operation on the hijacked bus with hostages on board.
  • Barring Morgan and De Niro, the rest of the cast seem disinterested and aloof from the proceedings as if they know how this is going to end. Batista and Gina Carano look out of place and turn up with plastic performances as their skills at action and stunts do not find any relevant position in this movie which is more of mind games.

Badges

Acting

Verdict

Verdict Stamp

‘Bus 657’ feels like one of those impromptu rides take with no clue about the destination to be reached, mostly due to an impoverished story line and partly due to misfit casting – one clueless journey into obscurity!