Unstoppable (2010)
2010
PG-13
98 Minutes
A runaway train, transporting deadly, toxic chemicals, is barreling down on Stanton, Pennsylvania, and only two men can stop it: a veteran engineer and a young conductor. Thousands of lives hang in...
User Review
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Unstoppable might not be adrenaline fuelled, but it is an extremely watchable flick. The collaborations between the late Tony Scott and Denzel Washington were not going to set the world on fire. Yet I keep getting drawn back to them. The competence both behind the camera and on screen makes for thrilling films, and Unstoppable is no different. A train is left stupidly on full throttle and is unmanned. Carrying hazardous cargo, two train drivers take it upon themselves to stop this train from potentially killing thousands. It does sound ridiculous, right? You would be correct. Now I'm no train expert but you would think you could remotely stop a train these days? Regardless, I find this to be fun. I can always watch this and not become bored. It's not everyday someone compares a train to a missile, just that alone puts a smile on my face (evidently I'm sadistic). What prevents this from being a mind numbingly boring action flick is the focus on troubled personal lives. Washington and Pine's characters both have difficult times away from work, and its through them discussing this that they actually bond closer. The impending doom as Dawson's sassy yet professional character consistently exclaims "6 minutes!" or "it's just passed milestone 46, you gotta hurry up!" in order to create thrills. Slightly uninspired but it does the trick. All the performances were competent, nothing outstanding but it gets the job done. The different techniques in order to try and halt this train were interesting to say the least. Derailing it, forcing a train ahead of it to try and slow it down, shooting at a tiny switch...some real genius work there...! Scott's direction was fast and frantic which assisted in maintaining the adrenaline, safe to say he did have a unique style which I fully appreciated. Look, you'll either watch Unstoppable thinking "I say, this is absolute tosh!" or you could sit back, relax and just enjoy what's on screen. Please be the latter, because this is a good time and y'know...not every film needs to be extraordinary.1 member likes this review.
