Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysToronto Int'l Film FestivalIMDb TIFF Portrait StudioHispanic Heritage MonthSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Detonator

Original title: Death Train
  • TV Movie
  • 1993
  • R
  • 1h 38m
IMDb RATING
5.2/10
4.3K
YOUR RATING
Pierce Brosnan and Patrick Stewart in Detonator (1993)
ActionThriller

A train with hostages is stolen in Bremen, Germany. It's heading south through Europe with a nuclear bomb. A UN crime-fighting task force is in charge of stopping it in cooperation with loca... Read allA train with hostages is stolen in Bremen, Germany. It's heading south through Europe with a nuclear bomb. A UN crime-fighting task force is in charge of stopping it in cooperation with local military and police.A train with hostages is stolen in Bremen, Germany. It's heading south through Europe with a nuclear bomb. A UN crime-fighting task force is in charge of stopping it in cooperation with local military and police.

  • Director
    • David Jackson
  • Writer
    • David Jackson
  • Stars
    • Pierce Brosnan
    • Patrick Stewart
    • Alexandra Paul
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.2/10
    4.3K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • David Jackson
    • Writer
      • David Jackson
    • Stars
      • Pierce Brosnan
      • Patrick Stewart
      • Alexandra Paul
    • 41User reviews
    • 12Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos27

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 21
    View Poster

    Top cast36

    Edit
    Pierce Brosnan
    Pierce Brosnan
    • Mike Graham
    Patrick Stewart
    Patrick Stewart
    • Malcolm Philpott
    Alexandra Paul
    Alexandra Paul
    • Sabrina Carver
    Ted Levine
    Ted Levine
    • Alex Tierney
    Christopher Lee
    Christopher Lee
    • General Benin
    John Abineri
    John Abineri
    • Leitzig
    Nic D'Avirro
    • Rodenko
    Clarke Peters
    Clarke Peters
    • Whitlock
    Andreas Jung
    • Kolchinsky
    • (as Andreas Sportelli)
    Ron Berglas
    Ron Berglas
    • Roger Flint
    Vili Matula
    • Sigi
    Lorrie Marlow
    Lorrie Marlow
    • Yolanda
    Terrence Hardiman
    Terrence Hardiman
    • German Commander
    Bill Leadbitter
    • Rosie
    Daniel Stewart
    Daniel Stewart
    • Tretyak
    Scott Garrison
    • Brent
    Helen Miya
    • Camille
    Zvonimir Zoricic
    • Dispatcher
    • Director
      • David Jackson
    • Writer
      • David Jackson
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews41

    5.24.2K
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    5johnny-08

    Not bad TV-film

    "Death Train" is not that bad.You can watch it easily but you can't expect anything from this movie.Big stars are joined in this one,such as Pierce Brosnan,Patrick Stewart and Christopher Lee.This movie isn't good but it isn't bad too.Somewhere stuck in the middle.I know the film locations so it's a bit interesting to watch the movie and realize that movie stars of this class where in your country.It's not that usual to see Brosnan,Stewart and Lee in Croatia and I think that they all did good job.Most of them did this because of money but hey isn't that what all people do?I realize that there are lots of mistakes in this movie and that plot is quite stupid but try to turn off for a 90 min. and just watch the movie.It will work,just don't think about reality of the situation because there aren't any.But we've got excellent male actors in this movie and everybody knows about them.But they have to act sometimes in movies like this.5/10
    4elo-equipamentos

    Brainless offer, Brosnan training for upcoming James Bond!!

    The premise is so weird which the writer David Jackson thought was dealing with a moronic audience, if someone has a bomb on Germany to send it straight to Iraq, quite sure the easy way is take it by airplane, instead he enforced a lame screenplay with lot of mismatches and full of holes concerning the accuracy send it by a slowly older train, worst lead by a American mercenary sponsored by a Russian General aiming for respawn a newest URSS already split, Brosnan is called from far off Daytona on Florida takes two schedule flight toward Germany team up with gorgeous Alexandra Paul a sort expert in guns, five language and so on, under the order of the big boss Patrick Stewart from U. N.'s security section against terrorism.

    A sharp eye can see all juggling of the writer to fooled the less informed in those countless oddities along the journey of train, likewise in sleeping gas thrown on locomotive, all hijackers previously had gas masks, silly attempt, in the 10 miles tunnel on border of Swiss and Italy the wiser Patrick Stewart has a brainy idea to cut off a small section of a rail train in order to stuck the train inside the tunnel, it wouldn't be easy explode it there, nobody could fix it whatsoever, well we have to stand such foolish thing, and about the countdown bomb, if you guessed that Brosnan will cut all wires on last second before the blasting you is a true genius, in other hand even the far-fetched storyline the picture hold the viewer at chair awake.

    Thanks for reading.

    Resume: First watch: 2023 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 4.
    5houseofjames

    OK Cast, lame plot, weak action

    Anyone watching this film because Alistair Maclean's name is on it will be sorely let down. A weak plot involving stolen nukes is nothing you haven't seen before, done better. Some of the acting (Brosnan, Stewart and Paul) is good, but Ted Levine is simply laughable as the secondary antagonist. His silly redneck character weakens any threat to his scenes with Brosnan. The venerable Christopher Lee is rather miscast as an evil Russian mastermind.

    Action scenes and photography are OK, but the editing, music and direction are dull. I also found it funny that it is some sort of UN team that goes after the nukes, where in real life it would be the Navy Seals or Delta Force that would be sent to deal with this train (and would certainly do a better job).
    wombat_1

    Not only the train is full of death - so is the movie.

    Here are my suggestions for the cartoon bubbles over the actors heads that showed what they were really thinking at the time:

    Pierce Brosnan: "My God, what am I doing in this piece of garbage"?

    Patrick Stewart: "Where am I? This isn't a starship".

    Miss ex-Babewatch: "Why won't anyone take me seriously? Mine aren't as big as Pamela's. See?"

    What a dreadful piece of crap. No wonder Alistair Maclean didn't want anything to do with it.
    modius

    How do you spell boring? "D-e-a-t-h T-r-a-i-n"

    TV thriller made in the early ninties starring heavyweights such as "Pierce Brosnan" desperate for a Bond type actionner (yet can't seem to handle any action sequence), Christopher Lee (in perhaps his most boring role ever) and Patrick Stewart (who appears to be doing this for the money).

    Chris Lee is funding the transportation of a nuclear warhead to Iraq so that he can lead the Russians to re-claim the warhead by conquering Iraq (despite the fact that Russia were in league with Iraqis anyway - that's why the US funded Iraq's leadership at the time with chemical weaponary, etc).

    The plot is paperthin, I still don't understand why the a-bomb has to be transported via train. I don't understand how doing a "media" job will allow Chris Lee's "Iron" man of Russia to become a leader for Russia.

    The train also keeps stopping, the SWAT team are silly and there are too many breaks for obilitary adverts for Coca-Cola or Pepsi, or whatever the hell that Baywatch lady drinks.

    Its too long, too boring and annoying.

    Overall: 1/10.

    More like this

    Detonator II: Night Watch
    5.1
    Detonator II: Night Watch
    Live Wire
    5.6
    Live Wire
    The Fourth Protocol
    6.5
    The Fourth Protocol
    After the Sunset
    6.2
    After the Sunset
    Survivor
    5.7
    Survivor
    Guns of the Magnificent Seven
    5.8
    Guns of the Magnificent Seven
    The Tailor of Panama
    6.1
    The Tailor of Panama
    Storm Catcher
    4.2
    Storm Catcher
    Don't Talk to Strangers
    5.7
    Don't Talk to Strangers
    Final Score
    5.8
    Final Score
    Around the World in 80 Days
    7.1
    Around the World in 80 Days
    100 Rifles
    6.0
    100 Rifles

    Related interests

    Bruce Willis in Die Hard (1988)
    Action
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      John Abineri is dubbed by David de Keyser.
    • Goofs
      Most of the German, Swiss and Italian railways operate under electric power supplied through overhead catenary. This includes all the major lines such as those connecting Bremen with Stuttgart which are also at least double track. All the lines in the movie are single track and lack catenary which clearly indicates them being branch lines.
    • Quotes

      Malcolm Philpott: We're in a state of martial law here. And *I'm* the Marshall.

    • Connections
      Featured in La noche de...: La noche de... El tren de la muerte (1996)

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 14, 1993 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • Croatia
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Russian
      • Italian
      • Slovenian
      • German
    • Also known as
      • Alistair MacLean's Death Train
    • Filming locations
      • Slovenia(on location)
    • Production companies
      • British Lion Film Corporation
      • Yorkshire International Films
      • Jadran Film
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • £2,300,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 38m(98 min)
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.