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Avalanche Express

PG Released Oct 19, 1979 1h 28m Action Mystery & Thriller List
20% Tomatometer 5 Reviews 13% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
A CIA agent (Lee Marvin) plans to use the defection of a Soviet official (Robert Shaw) to kill a Soviet germ-warfare expert on a train.
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Avalanche Express

Critics Reviews

View All (5) Critics Reviews
Gary Arnold Washington Post This fizzled brain-storm from New World, Roger Corman's production company looks like a cinch for the first supplement to "The 50 Worst Films of All Time." Dec 21, 2015 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy A miserable experience. Rated: 1/4 Dec 26, 2023 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Can always make time to watch an avalanche. Rated: B- Aug 31, 2021 Full Review Chuck O'Leary FulvueDrive-in.com A bad-luck project that saw director Mark Robson and co-star Robert Shaw die during production in 1978. The final result is a choppy all-star thriller that's obviously a truncated 88-minute salvage job. Rated: 4/10 Aug 18, 2007 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: C- Aug 7, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (21) audience reviews
Blu B This should be a pretty good idea. Spy/Action thrillers with trains in them have a solid history. What happens here is the script/editing is just alright. Once there on the train it feels like stuff just happens. An avalanche, double cross, shootout, romance, etc and none of it really ties together well. It's pretty standard stuff with some pointless fake outs thrown in for good measure if you've seen a few of these spy thriller types. You could rearrange this stuff or cut some out and nothing really changes THAT much. Second, it's confused with who the main focus is. Sometimes it's Marvin, sometimes it's Shaw and other times it doesn't feel like it knows who. What does help this considerably is this isn't even 90 minutes so the pacing isn't bad. It would be worse I feel if this pushed 2 hours. So it never drags and there is always action or something happening. Everything else is just alright. Marvin is decent but Shaw is just alright. Neither of them have much chemistry with the romantic interest who is just alright. The effects are ok. The models are very noticeable and aren't that impressive like in Superman or something like that. It's very noticeable. Some of the other effects are good though. Everyone else is just alright or forgettable. The direction in general isn't anything special and the music is very forgettable. It's not a train wreck (no pun intended) but it's onthing close compared to other train movie thrillers like Frm Russia With Love, The Train, or even Mission Impossible 7. Skip This unless your a DIE HARD Marvin fan. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/13/24 Full Review ashley h Avalanche Express is a disappointing film. It is about a CIA agent who plans to use the defection of a Soviet official to kill a Soviet germ-warfare expert on a train. Robert Shaw and Lee Marvin give horrible performances. The screenplay is badly written. Mark Robson did a terrible job directing this movie. I was not impressed with this motion picture. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review joe m "Avalanche Express" is a mash up of the spy and disaster genres of the 1960-70's yet just doesn't pull it off. The biggest problem is the movie has a muddled plot with the contrivance of using a train to transport a high ranking Russian defector from Milan to Rotterdam in some ludicrous scheme to out all of Russia's undercover agents along the way. This is on a train armed to the teeth and attacked numerous times - all while carrying paying passengers! Adding to the mess is the bad acting all round headed by the stars Marvin, Evans and Shaw. The only highlight is the fantastic train models and sets that are stand ins for going through the Alps. Just skip it. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Choppy mishmash of spies and action.... a cast of notable actors delivering a time waster. Plot not believable. Action phony. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Short and standard action movie of the late 70s. Robert Shaw is a Russian General who task a Colonel Maximilian Schell to take charge of a biological weapon project security. Lee Marvin and Linda Evans are CIA agent. Robert decide to defect and Lee is in charge of escorting him to safety. He use this chance to lure the secret killer agents as he know they will try to kill Robert. Lee fake his own death and become the train operator which nobody knows. Maximilian planted a agent in the same train. In the first ambush, Lee has to come out and kill the double agent. Before that he already told Robert to hide among the snow if attack is coming. Second attempt to kill the train was an avalanche. They have to free up last 3 carriages to escape in time to the tunnel. Maximilian hire a professional killer and his team to go up finish the job. A lady hold grenade and go to the control. The train stop on the bridge and the killers attack. All killers are dead. Maximilian manage to escape. Lee and gang dress up as the killers, trying to board the tanker which the baddies are hiding. Maximilian ignore the order to save them and want them dead. Lee fires torpedo and blow up the tanker. Finally they are in safety on board airplane to USA. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member La ultima película que Robert Shaw filmo antes de morir :'( ...y no fue buena :v aunque que curioso que la haya junto a Lee Marvin, ya que el fue la primera opción de Spielberg para ser Quint lol Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Avalanche Express

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The Living Daylights 73% 66% The Living Daylights Airport '77 40% 32% Airport '77 The Towering Inferno 68% 72% The Towering Inferno The Mechanic 45% 65% The Mechanic Escape From Alcatraz 97% 85% Escape From Alcatraz TRAILER for Escape From Alcatraz Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis A CIA agent (Lee Marvin) plans to use the defection of a Soviet official (Robert Shaw) to kill a Soviet germ-warfare expert on a train.
Director
Mark Robson
Producer
Mark Robson
Screenwriter
Abraham Polonsky
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Lorimar Productions
Rating
PG
Genre
Action, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 19, 1979, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2008
Runtime
1h 28m
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