Derailed(2002 film)

Derailedis a 2002 Americanvigilanteaction filmdirected by Bob Misiorowski. It starsJean-Claude Van Damme,Tomas Arana,Laura Harring,Jessica Bowman,and Van Damme's real life son Kris Van Varenberg.In the story, asecret agent(Van Damme) must escort a thief (Harring)—and thebioweaponshe has stolen—fromSlovakiatoGermany,but the agent's unsuspecting family and a dangerous criminal (Arana) end up on the same train as them.

Derailed
Original poster art
Directed by	Bob Misiorowski
Written by	Jace Anderson Adam Gierasch
Story by	Boaz Davidson
Produced by	Boaz Davidson Danny Lerner David Varod
Starring	Jean-Claude Van Damme Tomas Arana Laura Harring Susan Gibney
Cinematography	Ross W. Clarkson
Edited by	Marc Jakubowicz Fernando Villena
Music by	Serge Colbert
Production companies	777 Films Corp Production Millennium Films Nu Image
Distributed by	Artisan Home Entertainment (United States)
Release date	October 15, 2002(2002-10-15)(U.S.)
Running time	89 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$18–20 million
Box office	$297,835 (Mexico)

In the United States,Derailedpremiered onhome videoon October 12, 2002, although it was given atheatricalrelease in some international markets. The film has received universally negative reviews, and is widely held as a low point in the actor's career.

Plot

NATOoperative Jacques Kristoff is summoned into action by his superior, General Zakev. His objective is to track down Galina Konstantin, who has stolen an extremely valuable and dangerous container from theSlovakGovernment, and extract her toMunichby train. Kristoff is given assistance by Lars, who is working with NATO. Jacques is able to locate Galina, reaching her at the same time as aSlovak militaryunit. After an extended chase, they are able to reach the train and it departs.

Jacques is surprised to discover that his wife, Madeline, and two children, Bailey and Ethan, have boarded the train planning to surprise him for his birthday. However, Madeleine sees Galina and thinks Jacques and her are having an affair. Before storming out of Jacques' cabin, she tells him that she and the kids will get off the train at the next stop.

Meanwhile, the engine compartment is hijacked by two men who take control of the convoy. They install a cellphone jammer to prevent people from calling authorities. They are working with international criminal Mason Cole, who has also boarded the train. After the train has departed, Cole and his men take control of the train, killing most of the staff, with the exception of the conductor, who hides inside a cabinet after being shot in the leg. Cole orders his henchmen to corral the passengers to the bar room, and demands passenger Galina Konstantin be handed over to him.

Jacques takes out one of his henchmen and runs to the back of the train, where Galina is hiding. Galina reveals thetop secretcargo she is carrying is a set of three vials containing a dangeroussmallpoxstrain. Jacques takes the vials, and the two climb on the outside of the train to spy on Cole. However, they are detected and captured by Cole, who takes the vials. A fight ensues. Jacques is presumed to have fallen off the train, but has in fact managed to grab onto an exterior handle. Galina attempts to take the vials back, but one of them breaks, exposing everyone on the train to the virus.

Jacques neutralizes Cole's henchmen in charge of the train's controls. He disables the cell jammer, and puts the real conductor back at the commands. However the brake lines have broken, preventing the train from stopping. Meanwhile Madeline, a doctor by trade, helps comforting the infected passengers, including her own children. Now in possession of the virus, Cole plans to extract from the train via helicopter. But Jacques ambushes him and ties the helicopter's ladder to the train, causing it to crash as the train goes through the tunnel. He also steals the remaining vials back. Now able to place phone calls, Jacques alerts General Zakev of the ongoing crisis. However, he is discovered and escapes by getting off the train with a motorcycle. After consulting with the German railway authority andquarantinespecialists, Zakev announces that, should the train come close enough to Germany, they will have to destroy a bridge along its path using thermonuclear missiles.

Jacques climbs back onto the train, and Cole threatens to kill his family if he does not return the vials. He does, but Ethan steals them and flees. Soon after, the convoy getst-bonedby another crazy train, taking the back section clean off and leaving Ethan's fate uncertain. Jacques and the conductor initiate the process of separating the car they are in from the front cars and locomotive. They are ambushed by Cole, who kills the conductor before Jacques kills him.

Jacques and other passengers activate their car's manual brake. As the train gets near the bridge where the troops are massed, Zakev orders the bridge destroyed and the first few cars plunge into the crevice. However, the rest of the train slows down enough that the passengers—including Ethan who is revealed to be alive—can evacuate before their car falls off. The passengers are put in quarantine under a medical tent, and receive treatment. Jacques accuses Lars to have been an accomplice in the hijacking, and Zakev has the latter arrested. Madeline and Jacques reconcile, while Galina disappears. In the final scene, Galina is shown to have returned to her life of high-stakes burglaries.

Cast

• Jean-Claude Van Dammeas Jacques Kristoff
• Tomas Aranaas Mason Cole
• Laura Harringas Galina Konstantin
• Susan Gibneyas Madeline Kristoff
• Lucy Jenner as Natasha
• Jessica Bowmanas Bailey Kristoff
• Kris Van Varenberg as Ethan Kristoff
• John Bishop as Bob Sterling
• Binkey Van Bilderbeek as Angus Riley
• Dayton Callieas Lars
• Simona Williams as Catherine
• Sandra Vidal as Cynthia
• Stefanos Miltsakakis as Stavros
• Jimmy Jean-Louisas Henry
• George Stanchev as William
• Nikolay Binevas Vincent Gruber
• Stanimir Stamatov as Tanner
• Danko Yordanov as Nash
• Trayan Milenov-Troy as Rodrigo
• Emil Tonev as Jasper
• Velizar Peev as Oliver
• Nikolai Sotirov as Lorenzo
• Vasil Banov as General Zakev

Production

Development

Derailedis the sister film toAir Panic,another Nu Image transportationdisaster thrillermade shortly before by some of the same personnel, includingdirectorMisiorowski,writersAnderson and Gierasch,editorJacubowicz,composerColbert andeffectsmen Willie Botha and Ziad Zeirafi. In the run-up to the May 2001Cannes Film Market,Derailedwas promoted asDeath Train,and no star was yet officially attached to it.While Van Damme did travel to Cannes to promote his collaboration with Millennium, he focused on the later cancelledThe Monk,and seemingly made no mention ofDeath Trainduring thepress conference.In early October 2001,trade publicationThe Hollywood Reporterrelayed that the film, now namedDerailed,was about to enter production withVan DammeandLaura Harringstarring, and an estimated $20 million budget.TheDeath Traintitle was re-used by Nu Image for a much lower budgeted 2003 film featuring theirBcontract playerBryan Genesse.

The train's journey in the film, fromBratislavatoMunichviaLinz,corresponds to the central segment of the route followed by the famedOrient Expressin its classic years, although no overt reference is made to that specific property.

Elements ofBrazilian jiu jitsuwere incorporated into thefight sequencesas a way to mix things up for Van Damme's regular audience.Laura Harringtookself defenceclasses to prepare for her role, and credited the film for exposing her to a broader range of physical activities.

Filming

General information

Derailedwas filmed in and aroundSofia,Bulgaria,which stands in forBratislava,Slovakia,as well asVienna,Austriain early scenes. Some interiors were shot at the capital's historicBoyana Studios.Principal photographytook place between October 20and December 15, 2001. Background images for certain effects shots were captured earlier during the summer.

The first encounter between Jacques and Galina takes place insideIvan Vazov National Theatre.The extendedcar chasethat ensues was filmed close by, in the vicinity of the National Academy of Fine Arts. The night shoots caused minor disturbances, and traffic restrictions were placed in the perimeter for nearly a week.

Laura Harring said that she lost herfear of heightsduring the filming of the wire escape scene.Nonetheless, she was doubled by Leonsia Dokuzova, an internationally touring Bulgarianacrobat,for the most dangerous aerials performed by her character.Van Damme broke his hand during the shoot but finished that day and only took one day off for treatment, forcing the director to film around his swollen hand in several subsequent scenes. Van Damme considered himself to have been in the worst shape of his career onDerailed,as he spent most of his time in his hotel room to follow the latest9/11developments.

Train sequences

The producers were given a choice of twocharter trainsby theBulgarian State Railways.The first was built in pre-World War IIGermanyfor the country'sTsar.Sometimes marketed as the "Corona Express", it was lavishly decorated but would not pass as a currentpassenger train.The other was built inEast Germanyfor theCommunist regimethat overthrew the monarchy. Colloquially known as the "Government Train", it has also been marketed as the "Vitosha Express". As it was newer and boasted more complete amenities, the latter was chosen.Due to Bulgaria's relatively small railway system, only four miles of tracks located nearAldomirovtsicould be made available to the production, which forced the extensive use ofgreen screento vary backgrounds. As a result, the main unit only used the train for two days and recreated most of the rail action on asoundstage.The actual train was primarily used by thesecond unit.

The two trains't-bone collision,thehelicopter's crash into the mountain and the final bridge collapse were shot usingtrain miniatures,while the helicopter, backgrounds and various explosions were added via CGI inpost production.Effects sequences used models on the 1:87 and 1:22.5scales,built under the supervision of South Africanmodel makerand Nu Image regular Willie Botha.

Post-production

Visual Effects

There were over 420CGIand optical shots in the film. The CGI, which Misiorowski called "by far the most ambitious" in Millennium's history, were completed in just six weeks. Because of the sheer volume of work required, Millenium's in-house lab, Sofia-based Worldwide FX, partnered with fellow Bulgarian studio Sokerov.

In addition, important sequences were outsourced to American studios.Florida-based Lava Pictures was given the fight atop the train between Van Damme and Arana. The material involving themotorcycleandcar carrierwas sent to Digital Film Lab inLos Angeles,who were the main VFX shop onAir Panic.Select shots in the above two sequences were completed by THDX, the effects division of Title House Digital (who was in charge of the film'stitles and opticals).

Editing

Derailedemploys a particularly busy editing style, which has been cited as one of the reasons for its poor reception. A 2004 article byfilm scholarBarry Saltmentioned the film as having the shortest average shot length incinema historyat 1.63 second (or 1.53 second in some sources),for which it is still recognized by theGuinness Book of Recordsas of 2023.

Release

Derailedwas screened forfilm industryprofessionals during theCannes Film Marketon May 19, 2002.

Theatrical

Derailedhas been released theatrically in a number of international markets. The earliest theatrical release on record was in thePhilippineson August 28, 2002.Other theatrical markets include, but are not limited to,Spain,Mexico,andRussia(the latter in a limited release that only briefly preceded the home video).

Home media

The film arrived onhome videoin the United States viaArtisan Home Entertainmenton October 15, 2002, and in theUnited KingdomviaColumbia TriStar Home Entertainmenton August 11, 2003.It was released inFranceon January 6, 2005.

Reception

Onreview aggregatorwebsiteRotten Tomatoes,with 5 reviews, the film has a rareapproval rating of 0%—meaning no favorable reviews whatsoever—and an average rating of 2.42/10. The site's critics consensus describes it as "one of those familiar and pulpy cautionary tales that depend largely on implausible coincidences and preposterous twists."

The film has invariably been described as one of Jean-Claude Van Damme's worst, and is seen by many as thenadirof his career since his rise to mainstream stardom in the late 1980s.

Bob Misiorowski's directorial choices and the film's special effects have been singled out for particular disdain. David Nusair ofDVD Cyber CenterandReel Reviewscalled the direction "disastrous" and said "The brunt of the blame [...] falls to filmmaker Bob Misiorowski [...] Slow-motion, instant replays, grainy footage [...] his rampant overuse becomes far more distracting than anything else, turningDerailedinto an overblown annoyance. "Earl Cressey ofDVD Talkwrote that while he "went intoDerailedwith low expectations, the film still managed to disappoint "and was plagued by" a clichéd plot, jerky editing, and some really bad special effects. "David Parkinson of theBBC'sRadio Timesconcurred, calling the effects "lamentable".TV Guidewas also scathing, commenting that "The title sums up the state of one-time action star Jean-Claude Van Damme's career."Mick Martin and Marsha Porter'sDVD and Video Guideassessed that "former action star Jean-Claude Van Damme continues his descent into mediocrity with this badly directed, acted and writtenaction-thriller",giving it a zero out of five.

Retrospective reviews have been equally unkind. Eoin Friel ofThe Action ElitecalledDerailed"painful to watch", with "some of the worst visual effects you’ll ever see", and compared it unfavorably to Van Damme's earlier foray into the same genre,Sudden Death.

Soundtrack

The film'sscorewascomposedandproducedby Serge Colbert. The Balkan Choir contributed vocals, while orchestral parts were performed by the Balkan Symphony Orchestra, under the direction ofSouth AfricanconductorConrad Van Alphen.

See also

• List of films with a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes

External links

• DerailedatIMDb
• DerailedatRotten Tomatoes
• DerailedatAllMovie