REVIEW: Speed Train (2025 Film) - Starring Scout Taylor-Compton, Nicky Whelan and Louis Mandylor

Review by Jon Donnis

There is no easing into the world of Speed Train. It opens with a glossy in-universe advert for the Brain Op chip, an AI implant sold as a lifestyle upgrade, and immediately signals the kind of pulpy sci-fi the film is aiming for. It is broad, blunt, and knowingly ridiculous, but it does at least establish its futuristic setting with clarity before the chaos begins.

The plot strands a mismatched group of passengers aboard a high-speed Nexus Track capsule. Among them are cheerleading coaches Tessa and Scarlet, their athletes Mary and Heather, and Gray, an INTERPOL agent travelling for painfully ordinary personal reasons. Their journey is interrupted when Lachlan hijacks the train, hacks the Brain Op implants, and turns passengers into violent puppets controlled by remote buyers. With no brakes and no way off, survival becomes the only goal.

Once the hijacking is underway, Speed Train settles into its groove. The film makes smart use of its limited resources, sticking to a handful of sets and keeping the action confined to the capsule's narrow corridors. The violence is gleefully excessive, sometimes gory, and often clumsy in a way that feels deliberate rather than incompetent. Fight choreography is rough and ready, but that scrappy energy suits the tone. The film knows exactly what it is and never pretends otherwise.

The cast are made up of faces that feel familiar without being distracting. Scout Taylor-Compton's Tessa leans heavily into the ex-military stereotype, while Nicky Whelan plays Scarlet with just enough confidence to carry the sillier moments. Oliver Masucci brings some grounding presence as Gray, even if his subplot never fully lands. Louis Mandylor's villain is pure genre excess, fuelled by revenge and scenery-chewing menace. (And yes, it is Nikos from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, in case you were curious)

There are missed opportunities. The Brain Op chip is a strong concept, but its implications are barely explored beyond convenience features and mind control. Much of the early runtime is spent setting up characters who never grow beyond basic archetypes, and the focus on the restrained prisoners slows the momentum before the film truly gets moving. Performances are undeniably cheesy, and the low budget shows in almost every frame.

Still, Speed Train benefits from knowing when to stop. At around 80 minutes, it never outstays its welcome. The ending is obvious from a long way out, but that is not really the point. The appeal lies in the ride itself, watching increasingly absurd situations escalate inside a metal tube hurtling across the country.

If you have a soft spot for low-budget B-movie sci-fi, Speed Train is an easy recommendation. It is silly, rough around the edges, and frequently daft, but it has enough energy and self-awareness to make the experience enjoyable.

I score Speed Train a generous 6 out of 10

Out Now on Digital

Apple TV - https://apple.co/4s3ubaC

NEWS: LEGEND Launches the New Year with Ten High-Impact Channel Premieres

By Jon Donnis

LEGEND ushers in the new year with ten adrenaline fuelled channel premieres, spanning war drama, action, thriller and science fiction. The line-up includes Peter Weir's acclaimed war film Gallipoli, which helped establish Mel Gibson as a leading man, alongside titles from directors Rob Cohen, Mike Figgis and John Badham.

Among the featured films is Stealth, directed by Rob Cohen, a military science fiction action thriller set in the near future. Mike Figgis is represented with Internal Affairs, pairing Andy Garcia and Richard Gere in a psychological crime story centred on police corruption. John Badham's Nick of Time also screens this month, starring Johnny Depp and Christopher Walken in a real time political thriller.

MECHANIC RESURRECTION

Other channel premieres include Mechanic: Resurrection, the sequel to The Mechanic, starring Jason Statham as professional assassin Arthur Bishop. Also airing is the submarine thriller Hunter Killer, starring Gerard Butler and Gary Oldman. Oldman appears again in the gangster drama Lawless, which also stars Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain and Guy Pearce.

Additional premieres across the month include the alien invasion film Battle Los Angeles, the Western thriller The Last Son starring Sam Worthington, Thomas Jane and Heather Graham, and the spy thriller Survivor, starring Milla Jovovich and Pierce Brosnan, with Roger Rees in his final film role.

The schedule begins on Saturday 3 January at 9pm with Mechanic: Resurrection. Jason Statham returns as Arthur Bishop, who is forced back into his former life after the manipulative actions of a woman played by Jessica Alba place him in danger once again.

On Sunday 4 January at 9pm, Gallipoli airs. The film follows two young men, played by Mel Gibson and Mark Lee, who join the Australian army in 1915. Their journey takes them across continents to Egypt before they reach the battlefield at Gallipoli.

Saturday 10 January at 9pm sees the broadcast of Stealth. In the film, three Navy pilots are chosen to fly advanced stealth fighter bombers and train an unmanned drone aircraft controlled by artificial intelligence. When the computer system begins to act independently, the pilots must prevent a potential nuclear disaster. The film stars Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel and Jamie Foxx.

Internal Affairs follows on Sunday 11 January at 9pm. Andy Garcia plays internal affairs officer Raymond Avila, who investigates respected police officer Dennis Peck, portrayed by Richard Gere. As the investigation deepens, Avila uncovers corruption, murder and a dangerous psychological battle.

HUNTER KILLER

On Saturday 17 January at 9pm, Hunter Killer centres on an American submarine commander and a Navy SEAL team attempting to rescue the President of Russia during a military coup. Gerard Butler and Gary Oldman star.

Sunday 18 January at 9pm brings Nick of Time. Johnny Depp plays an accountant forced into an assassination plot when his daughter is kidnapped. The story unfolds in real time, with Christopher Walken appearing as the antagonist known as Mr Smith.

Battle Los Angeles airs on Saturday 24 January at 9pm. The film depicts a global alien invasion as Los Angeles becomes a final battleground. A Marine staff sergeant, played by Aaron Eckhart, leads his platoon against an unknown enemy.

On Sunday 25 January at 9pm, Lawless tells the true story of the Bondurant brothers, who run a moonshining operation in Depression era Virginia. Their business is threatened by the arrival of corrupt lawman Charlie Rakes, played by Guy Pearce.

Thursday 29 January at 9pm features The Last Son. Sam Worthington stars as Isaac LeMay, an outlaw driven by a prophecy that leads him to hunt his own children, including his son Cal. Thomas Jane appears as U.S. officer Solomon.

The month concludes on Saturday 31 January at 9pm with Survivor. Milla Jovovich plays a Foreign Service Officer at the American embassy in London who becomes the target of an international assassin known as The Watchmaker, portrayed by Pierce Brosnan.

Alongside the film premieres, Charlie's Angels continues with the channel premiere of Season Five, airing weeknights at 6pm from Friday 9 January. The Twilight Zone also returns with the channel premiere of Season Four, airing Saturdays and Sundays at 8pm from Saturday 3 January.

REVIEW: Altered (2025 film) Starring Tom Felton, Liza Bugulova, Richard Brake, Igor Jijikine and Aggy K. Adams.

Review by Jon Donnis

Altered arrives with a premise that feels strangely close to the direction our own world is drifting toward. You can almost sense that familiar knot in your stomach as the film lays out its alternate present. A society rebuilt after nuclear fallout. A shiny new world split cleanly by genetic privilege. The setup is strong and has the sort of grounded bite that gives science fiction its punch. You can see the truth in it, even when the plot leans into spectacle.

Tom Felton carries much of the weight as Leon. He has an easy charm here, a kind of battered sincerity that stops the film from slipping into pure pulp. His partnership with Liza Bugulova's Chloe feels warm and lived in, which helps when the wider story starts piling on its themes. The pair scrape by in the Special District, where the air is thick with rust and resignation, and their scavenger life has a real texture to it. The pace moves nicely as well. At a little over eighty minutes, it never drags, and you can settle into it without feeling as though you are signing up for a marathon.

The trouble is that the film keeps nudging you with messages instead of trusting the world to speak for itself. It grabs at every political idea it can reach. Genetic inequality. Healthcare access. Corruption. Class war. Propaganda. All of it thrown in at once. Instead of building a layered picture, it tips into something a bit cartoonish. You find yourself wishing the script had picked one thread and given it the time to breathe. The modest budget also shows. Some sequences in the Genetics District have ambition, though now and then the effects wobble just enough to pull you out of the moment.

Still, Altered has a spark. The world feels interesting even when the storytelling falters, and the central relationship keeps the whole thing from collapsing under its own weight. Felton does good work with what he is given, and there are glimmers of a sharper, more focused film lurking underneath the noise.

Altered is a clever idea that never quite blossoms. It rushes through its themes, leans too hard on political shouting, and lets its thin story drag down a strong concept. Even so, it is watchable, reasonably brisk, and held together by Felton's steady presence. A generous 6 out of 10 feels about right.

Out Now on Digital

Apple TV - https://apple.co/4iIT9YU