Review of TransSiberian (2008) by Christopher B — 03 Feb 2009

This film has a lot going for it: Beautiful locations (it's set in snow-covered Siberia, but was filmed in icy Lithuania), competent actors (Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley, Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer) and an intriguing premise.

Unfortunately, the script is somewhat sloppy, leading one character to make ridiculous move after more-ridiculous move. This wouldn't be such a problem EXCEPT this character moves the entire story along. The screenwriter, probably realizing that this character's actions are hardly believable, created a troubled back story that was designed to give clarity for the character's emotional state and poor decisions.

It doesn't work... and, in a lot of ways, neither does this movie. Still, it's beautifully shot -- I watched it on Blu-ray -- with some really nice scenes.