Unstoppable (2010)

This is an excellent movie in almost all respects. The cast does a very good job. The two leads play off of each other very well together and project good chemistry. The supporting cast is good as well and the movie even does a good job with providing some character depth (to the extent you can in this type of movie)- you do wind up rooting for them. The director has taken a good story, and matched it with excellent, I mean excellent, cinematography and takes us an every faster roller coaster ride. The movie is well paced, it keeps you engaged from the start & doesn't let you go until its over, and was just a lot of fun to watch. I highly recommend it.

Fmovies: It would not be much for me to say that above, having Denzel Washington re- teaming up with his frequent collaborator, director Tony Scott, on yet another movie involving a train very soon after last year's "Pelham 123". Comparisons, no matter how many people try to avoid it, is futile. One is always going to end up better than the other.

Fortunately, "Unstoppable" is better than "Pelham 1 2 3". The main reason is that while "Pelham" works as more of a crime thriller, "Unstoppable" like the title suggests, is an action film. It has exhilarating action sequences laced with heart-stopping suspense and white-knuckle thrills the moment that train is let loose. It is cliché to say it, but it's terrific edge-of-your-seat entertainment. For those who are short on thrills after bland after-summer borefests (here's looking at you, "Takers"), this movie is for you.

Is it going to win any Oscars? With a movie like this? No, of course not. This isn't "There Will Be Blood". It's not exactly intelligent, but it is mostly believable. Inspired by true story, writer Mark Bomback's ("Live Free or Die Hard") script is fueled on one simple, very basic premise - a runaway train of doom (complete with highly toxic and explosive material packed in the last of its carriages). There are no human villains, just human heroics, stupidity and carelessness, plus a speeding and out of control giant bullet that can cause certain doom for many people. Those human qualities are what gives this film a realistic and believable edge.

The heroes are just everyday guys like you and me - Denzel Washington especially proves himself adaptable to every role assigned to him; in fact you can say that Washington plays himself in many his films, with that friendly smile and gentleman-like charm. He is tense, and worried when the role requires him to, and you feel for him and root for his character all the way.

But Washington is not alone in trying to stop this missile-on-wheels. Chris Pine here shows star power, and he has many heroic moments. I'm not saying that all looks, no substance. The guy shows, like Denzel, emotions when he needs to. The chemistry between him and Denzel is great, the buddy moments were there as well.

Both of them are the two main characters, but others are busy trying to stop this giant behemoth (most to useless effects). Rosario Dawson, Kevin Dunn and Lew Temple all give solid supporting performances as they try to stop the train at all costs.

Yes, the script could use some reworking, especially in the cliché- filled dramatic parts, but Mark Bomback's script is ultimately an extended chase sequence that doesn't relent the moment it starts. The aforementioned dramatic moments take place during the action, so the film's pace is about as tight as a bullet. It's short, simple (we're talking bare-bones simple here, don't expect any hidden meanings to be unfurled like the vastly superior "Runaway Train" by Andrei Konchalovsky), and straight to the point. And perhaps that is why "Unstoppable" works - it has a very nice touch of simplicity, with an easy to understand plot and like-able, everyday guys who have no choice but to save the day before pandemonium breaks out.

Technical wise, it is outstanding. All of the films action sequences are filmed with REAL trains and REAL destruction and mayhem, making it perfect eye candy for action junkies drained

Loosely based on a true story from 2001, UNSTOPPABLE is a tension packed, heart-racing juggernaut of a movie Â… about an unmanned, runaway train carrying a payload of highly flammable fuel and toxic waste that is heading straight for the densely populated of Stanton, Pennsylvania at 70mph.

Several human errors by an incompetent train driver Dewey (Ethan Suplee – "Randy" from My Name is Earl) and his colleagues allows the out of control train to leave the depot without air brakes and security cut out systems … and from then on, the race is on to try and stop this out of control half-mile long train "bomb" from devastating a city.

After several attempt fail Â… train driver Frank (played by double Oscar winning Denzel Washington - Training Day, Man on Fire, Malcolm X, Cry Freedom), and rookie conductor Will (Chris Pine - Star Trek) find themselves isolated as the last resort to try and prevent a disaster of epic proportions

Ably directed by Tony Scott (who has something of a history with trains and Denzel Washington – Taking of Pelham 123, Man on Fire), UNSTOPPABLE features some really good camera work, low ground shots, blur in movement, close-up action … and a very imaginative use of sound and music … (this film can be really loud in parts) – are things that really emphasizes the feeling of locomotive power, speed and imminent destruction … I could swear that my seat was shaking as the train speed increased …

Throw in some human drama, agitated animals and a train load of school kids in peril Â… not to mention the annihilation of a whole city Â… and you have all the ingredients required for an edge of the seat action thriller

There are very good acting performances also by the supporting cast, namely Rosario Dawson as Connie Hooper the senior train dispatcher who does an admirable job in keeping the tension up and she is the "glue" that holds all the dialogue, characters and plot lines together … Kevin Dunn as Oscar Galvin as Hooper's boss and Kevin Corrigan as Inspector Werner – a train safety inspector.

UNSTOPPABLE is very recommended and is a film that really needs to be watched on the big screen in a cinema that has really good surround sound to get the full benefit of the camera work and soundtrack.

UNSTOPPABLE is 98 mins long, is an 12A certificate and will be on general release from Weds 24th November 2010

Unstoppable fmovies. Even though I did not care whatsoever for the fates of any of the stick-figure characters that populate Tony Scott's new movie "Unstoppable" and despite the fact that I still have some qualms with his directing style, I must confess that this new runaway-train movie won me over. It works on the principles of late afternoon escapism and it's quite efficient as a nail-biter. Kicking off to big bursts of kinetic action almost right from the beginning and lasting for a taut ninety-eight minutes, it proved itself as one of the more wholesomely entertaining action movies I've seen in the last half of the year.

The movie is based (loosely) on the CSX 8888 incident of 2001, in which a freight train ran amok and unmanned across the state of Ohio for two hours. Here the setting is switched to Pennsylvania and it's running at such high speeds that it threatens to destroy Stanton should it derail itself on an elevated railway and smash its toxic cargo. Of course, for the conventions of the action/escapism movie plot, we've got two troubled heroes who are just going through the motions of their not-so-happy lives when they assume the Superman personality and race against time to stop the train.

The train is the real star of the movie. More interesting than the people trying to control it. Director Tony Scott gives us several impressive and creative shots of the half-mile-long mechanical monster as it rampages around. Listen carefully to the soundtrack and amongst all the crashes and grinding sounds you'll hear noises reminiscent of the tyrannosaurus in Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park." The movie almost seems like a big-budget homage to Spielberg's early-career movie "Duel" in which you had an innocent man being pursued by a giant tractor-trailer.

The characters are modeled after Action Movie 101 Writing stereotypes. You know, the veteran and the rookie. One of them is splitting up with his wife, the other is having a hard time maintaining a relationship with his daughters. You've got the noble yardmaster wanting to save lives and the greedy, vulgarity-spitting corporate executive whose more concerned about how much dough he's lost. And, of course, it takes a major catastrophe in which lives are risked in order to glue everything back together again. And no, morbid as it sounds, I didn't care who lived and who died.

However, *however* the filmmakers are smart enough to play with this to their advantage. They do not waste any more time than they really need to with this flat caricatures and instead devote as much of the brief running time as they can to very gritty action sequences. I must commend Mr. Scott for his ability to coordinate his pyrotechnics crew. Although I still detest his overly extravagant dolly shots and irksome "quick zooms" (in which the camera inches in and out of people for no reason at all) he does hold your attention when letting loose a wave of inertia. The last quarter of the movie is consumed by an enormous, very intense action sequence that develops suspense and nail-biting tension reminiscent of "Back to the Future." Complications are thrown in and as they kept on coming, I gradually discovered myself nervously toying with the zipper of my jacket. He also does a fantastic job of balancing sequences with "Live Television" shots as news cameras record the incident.

"Unstoppable" is not a work of art, but heck, it's not trying to be. Movies are meant to be one of

Unstoppable plays out like a basic action thriller that keeps us engaged the entire time. With the train as the center of the story, in a way we get transported back to the days of great entertainment, where the storyline is simple, characters pure, and the dialogue isn't overdone. Here is an action film that stays on track and keeps you glued to the edge of your seat until the high-intensity climax is over. It operates at gut-level mode, as we get to follow all the twists and turns of the main character, runaway train #777. Unstoppable is a summer movie action blockbuster released in a winter spot that doesn't pause for a breath as it picks up steam, and most likely you won't either. It's one of those mindless thrillers that was made so well you probably will miss a lot of the detail as the movie literally sweeps you away, which is what a great action movie will do.

Unstoppable is based on a true story that comes out of Ohio where we have a low-level employee who fails to set the air brakes on a train while changing tracks and the issues that ensue as a result. The director Tony Scott, no newcomer to the action genre, sets the stage for the high-octane second half by letting us get to know the 2 main characters: Rookie conductor Will Colson (Chris Pine) and veteran engineer Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington). The two both have their share of family issues, which adds to the difficulty of being able to work together initially. Another dynamic we discover is that the company is forcing employees to be laid off, as evidenced by the fact that Barnes is being replaced by younger engineers such as Colson. The 2 characters provide solid low-key performances and we see the tension that initially exists turn into mutual cooperation to work together for a solution, and then at the end, respect.

Solid performance also given by Rosario Dawson, who is both the eye-candy and sounding board for our heroes, planted where she can see all train activity.

As the movie progresses, we come to find out that this runaway train laden with toxic chemicals is headed towards heavily populated areas, and our stomach starts to sink about the devastating possibilities that may occur should everything go wrong. The plan? to link up to the phantom engine from the back and pull it the other way, coming to a full stop.

It is fascinating to watch the failed attempts to stop the train, which seems to add to the power, giving the audience a realistic idea of how "unstoppable" this train truly is with it's 10M pounds of force going full-steam ahead.

In the end what we are left with is ordinary men putting on extraordinary acts of courage. Where there might be chest-pounding there are a couple of family guys doing what they felt should have been done by anyone in that situation, and a humbleness that brings a more realistic quality to the movie.

I'm glad that the sensationalism was toned down so that the thrills that the movie had to offer truly thrilled me. As others have stated already, Unstoppable is truly a "Speed" on tracks and definitely one of the year's finer action movies.

7/10 stars

Simple, Thrilling, and Very Entertaining. Unstoppable never tries to be anything more than it is. It follows a runaway train that occurred in Pennsylvania and the two men that try to stop it. First off, I gotta five Tony Scott credit for making a film about trains, that in itself is pretty interesting. How many people know about and use trains regularly? Then take that and turn into one of the most suspenseful, entertaining films of the year culminates into a really good time. The film's opening credits starts with how the train was lost and runs away, so right off the bat you know that it's not going to be a dull film. Before any of the main characters are brought into the story the antagonist and therefore the action get underway. Your then introduced to Will, played by Chris Pine, and Frank, played by Denzel Washington. Will is the rookie conductor that is placed under the veterans Frank's wing. Then you have Connie, played by Rosario Dawson, as the head of all the trains currently running, basically a conductor that oversees all operations, who is in charge of finding a solution to the runaway train, while also dealing with the corporate suits, mainly Oscar Galvin, played by Kevin Dunn, who are more interested in stock prices and money losses then the overall safety and physical damage the train could cause. So, after some failed attempts to stop the train, Denzel comes up with a plan to stop it, and this is where Will and Frank become involved with the runaway.

Tony Scott does a pretty good job of making the runaway train look menacing, almost like a monster that no matter what you do always keeps coming for you. The majority of special effects and stunt work were done realistically with very little CGI being used, which for me is always a plus. With it being based on a true story he definitely uses a lot of tactics to make it feel less like a film and more like your actually watching the action happen presently. There's a lot of bird eye shots of the trains making it feel like a news helicopters are shooting it, while also cutting to news broadcasts following the runaway train through the majority of the film creating a more realistic view of the whole story. He also filmed on location in Pennsylvania, which was pretty cool living in central PA and having the opportunity to talk with some of the crew.

As for the characters, the first half of the film, is where the majority of the very little character development comes into play. Will and Frank bicker back and forth at each other, when unsurprisingly they find a common bond through broken families with their wives and children. There are also many conversations, which mostly turn into arguments, between Connie and Oscar about how to stop the runaway train and the potential problems it could cause. Yet, due to the pacing and strategic place of key conversations you end up caring about the characters and are pulling for them to get out of this disaster alive. The most important and character revealing dialogue occurs during the more explosion filled scenes with the train.

Overall, it's a pretty fun time, and never has a boring moment. Just when you think the dialogue may be getting a bit to breathy and boring, Scott crashes the runaway into some object causing a major explosion. It's one of those no brain activity films that you can just sit back and enjoy. The characters are there and Scott makes sure not to fill the runtime up with too much dialogue, but with just enough to develop Frank, Will, and Connie into people we want t