Review | 96 Minutes: train bomb thriller forgoes excitement for life lessons

2/5 stars

Guilt proves to be a powerful trigger for a retired bomb disposal expert in the Taiwanese action thriller 96 Minutes, when his past mistakes prove every bit as deadly as a bomb planted on board a cross-country express train.

Austin Lin Po-hung stars as Kang-ren, still haunted by his failure to prevent a deadly department store bomb attack three years earlier, whose past catches up with him at high speed after attending a memorial service for the victims.

Travelling back to the capital with the other attendees, Captain Li (Lee Lee-zen), who was Kang-ren’s boss, receives an anonymous message warning that there is a bomb on board set to detonate in exactly 96 minutes, or if any attempt is made to stop the vehicle or unload its passengers.

Clues point to the bomber being on either their train or the one that left a few minutes prior. Both are filled with grieving relatives, scarred survivors, as well as Kang-ren’s own mother (Lu Hsueh-feng) and fiancée (Vivian Sung Yun-hua).

With the clock ticking, the police must find the device, identify the bomber and save the day before either train hurtles into Taipei station.