Jennifer Aniston and Clive Owen merely ride out the motions in lumbering thriller Derailed. Swedish director Mikael Håfström never gets a grip, but that's hardly surprising given a pointless plot by Collateral scribe Stuart Beattie. Following strangers on a train whose lives collide with far-reaching consequences, there are obvious Hitchcockian undertones, but these are reduced to clichés and the easy-to-read clues mean you can see the destination even before leaving the platform.

Alleged family man Charles gets lucky in more ways than one when fellow commuter Lucinda offers to pay his fare. After a bit of tiresome humming and hawing, they check into a fleabag motel. But sadly, the only sparks generated are by the cheap polyester sheets. Then events take a more drastic turn for the worse when Vincent Cassel bursts in as roughneck LaRoche. He assaults the couple with his bare fists - and a lot of barefaced overacting - before attempting to extort money to hide their dirty little secret.

"A WAITING GAME"

Although unintentional, Cassel's grandstanding offers comic relief from the plodding machinations. Essentially the film is a waiting game where Charles struggles to catch up with what we already know. The dynamic between the leads feels contrived and every stumbling block they encounter is a signpost to the final twist. Meanwhile a subplot involving Charles' ailing daughter (Addison Timlin) is a futile attempt to add urgency which Beattie doesn't even follow through. Rather than have Charles face the real consequences of his actions, he distracts with casual violence. A long and winding route to nowhere.