Different music : (I Am Onto You) is so sensitive piece of music. You don't run into anything like it in the usual action flicks. Its sad sense moved me memorably. And it deepened a romantic feel, not about the events but about the movie itself.<br /><br />Different lead : well, sure Crowe isn't familiar with Hollywood fares. He's not Willis, Sly or Denzel. But the 31 year old actor at the moment had to do one to prove that he can be a star. He added much seriousness and toughness to the stereotype he was handed. It was his thriller, and it was good. Generally it is not rare to see Crowe playing a role in a thriller; but it is rare to see a usual role, as that, played by Crowe.<br /><br />Different case : the Asian characters were always the same in the American movies, the bad same to be precise ! Certain shameful marks had been adhered to them for years and years. You'd feel another treating since the early 1990s. I think that the entrance of Asian funds in the Hollywood production game got a lot to do with the reason of this transmutation. Here, it's more than clear from the death of the Asian girl at the start like a martyr to the Asian evil guy who turns out to be an honest friend after all, and a criminal yet with a heart of gold (suits perfectly a 1995 movie !).<br /><br />Aside from strange homage to Kubrick's (Clockwork Orange) at the movie's intro, the writing and the directing of Frank A. Cappello was fine. Although he just recycled the same old crap again but in entertaining and remarkable way. Everything runs so fast and thrilling but it lacked the big budget that could put some logic to the illogical matters (I didn't buy the fallen plane's sequence for instance, with dazzling special effects it would've been more effective). I loved the most the conversations of the lead and his little son; that was a bit different and amusing.<br /><br />It is suitable for 90 minutes of fun, and it doesn't allege anything but that. It could've been another forgettable, averagely produced, B-movie. But its simple differences gave it a distinct character that worked.