Review: Unstoppable

Grade: C+

In Pennsylvania, a couple of rail yard workers accidentally let an unmanned train lose on a main track. This train is a half mile long and is towing many cars loaded with combustible fluids and toxic chemicals and is heading towards the city of Stanton, Pennsylvania, which has a raised curve that the train will surely derail on, possibly wiping out the city. While the rail company is trying, and failing, to come up with a good idea to stop the train, a young conductor and a veteran engineer decide to chase down the train on their lone locomotive in a drastic attempt to bring the runaway train under control and bring it to a top before it decimates the town.

Unstoppable is inspired by true events, but I wonder how much of it is true because I think some of the events of this movie would have been all over national news but I never heard a thing about it. This movie is pretty entertaining, but really not that great. Tony Scott (Top Gun, Déjà Vu) has a talent in this movie of making a little bit of action, seem like a lot. For instance, there is a scene where they say that the train is going about 20mph but the camera work and everything makes it seem as though the train is going about 80mph. The movie also seems to have something against Pennsylvania State Patrol as they are all portrayed as complete idiots in this movie.

Denzel Washington (The Book of Eli, Inside Man) plays the role of Frank, a veteran engineer with the rail company. Washington was great, as he always is, playing this character. He had a quick wit and really showed the characters determination to stop this train. Chris Pine (Star Trek, Smoking Aces) plays Will, a new conductor, fresh out of training. Pine did a great job and continues to improve as an actor. He really helped make this movie enjoyable. Rosario Dawson (Seven Pounds, Clerks II) plays Connie, an employee at the rail company helps encourage the two to ignore the company and stop the train themselves. Dawson was great as usual in her role, maintaining a nice balance of drama but throwing in some witty lines here and there. The movie also features Kevin Corrigan, Kevin Dunn, Ethan Suplee, T.J. Miller and more.

Unstoppable is a fun and exciting movie, but I feel it also has many faults. As is said, even though it seems action packed, after you watch it you will think about it and realize not much really happened.