Unstoppable

Unstoppable is a movie that takes no time at all to get immediately into the action. Unstoppable is the story of a freight train in Pennsylvania that while it is being moved about in a train yard and being unmanned the throttle gets bumped causing the freight train and its load of hazardous materials to gradually pick up speed and become an unstoppable train as it careens through towns out of control with no one to stop it. From there it is a pedal to the metal ride as this movie does not stop from the first moment until the end. A movie about trains is not always easy to do and yet I was looking forward to this movie as soon as I heard about it. Not too mention I wanted to see it even more once I found out Denzel Washington was involved because he has that uncanny ability with his performances to be able to take any type of movie and move it above what it may have been with any other actor.

The story for this movie was a great one. Based on actual events the film makers do a great job at giving some great moments of suspense without being too corny which can easily happen with movies that are based on actual events. Kudos goes to the filmmakers for the ability to not only make an exciting movie about trains, but it is truly the only movie I can recall in which the train is the antagonist in the film. While bad guys have used trains as part of their plot, Unstoppable is simply a train that was accidentally let go, yet the train as the antagonist fits perfectly. As the train barrels through town after town and through each railroad crossing the train truly has no feelings or remorse no matter what happens. It is about as close to perfect as an antagonist can be because there is no way to reason with the train which ends up being more intimidation that everyone in the audience can feel throughout the film.

Denzel Washington plays the role of Frank, a seasoned engineer who along with his rookie conductor set out to try to catch the runaway freighter and hopefully stop it before it reaches the raised tracks and dangerous "S" curves that would surely flip the train and cause the hazardous waste to spill and decimate a town. Washington gives his usual great performance and he is able to play the role with just the right amount of hardness that the audience can truly believe he is a long time train engineer. He has this great hard headedness that only makes the audience root for him simply because he defies the order he is given by those in charge not to go after the train. Starring alongside Washington is Chris Pine in the role of Will, the rookie conductor. Pine plays the role with a similarity in the way he played Captain Kirk  in Star Trek. Both of these characters he played are very similar so as the rookie conductor he comes out with an arrogance and cockiness that he feels in being a young hot shot and he believes to know more then any of the others. As well as feeling that he knew all that was needed in order to advance quickly as a conductor. Washington works well with Pine as the hardened veteran engineer does all he can to humble the new rookie conductor.  The chemistry is very strong between these two and the conflict they have at the beginning works well and it shows a great reason to real life and how those that seem so different can find similarities. Like the characters of Frank and Will do through the family struggles they are both going through. 

The rest of the supporting cast is sufficient, but they are also fairly minimal. Rosario Dawson gives a strong performance as the yardmaster Connie. She plays her role very strong and is confident in what she thinks to be right. Some of the arguments that take place between her and Galvin her boss make for some good drama and as the audience you feel she is wanting to do the right things that you can not help but look at her boss as being an idiot.

Unstoppable is a movie that ends up being truly that as it is unstoppable from the opening sequence until the end. I really enjoyed the unique aspect of this film as the runaway train being the sole antagonist.  I am giving Unstoppable three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a movie that will eventually end up in our DVD collection. It is not only worth the price of renting but a fun movie worth owning.

-The Movie Man