Movie Review: Unstoppable (2010)
Synopsis: Just days from a forced retirement at reduced benefits, veteran train engineer Frank Barnes is tasked with training an arrogant rookie conductor, Will Colston. Their routine day changes when a trainyard error sends a locomotive hauling 39 cars and dangerous chemicals hurtling down the mainline at fast speeds and without anyone driving it. After barely getting out of its path and against the wishes of their boss, Frank and Will begin chasing the train down, hoping to slow or stop it before it derails and causes a catastrophic event.
Who's in it? The movie stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Kevin Dunn and Kevin Corrigan.
Review: My wife decided to work in her sewing studio last night so, after mowing my mom's lawn, I came home and settled in with a movie until she got home. I had seen Unstoppable before, but it had been a while, so I gave it another try. Overall, I still thought it was a decent choice.
This is, in all honesty, a disaster movie that could probably use a little more action and suspense. It is based on a true story and there are of course some limitations when the vehicle everyone is concerned about can only travel in one direction, but it is also a Hollywood film that didn't take full advantage of Hollywood's magic.
That said, the realism did add quite a bit to the movie, both with how easy it was for something as routine as a train could turn into a potentially catastrophic weapon because of human error and the way those in charge made things worse by making decisions based on greed and stock prices. It made the movie feel as though it could happen again tomorrow (making me think twice about the train that passes by my office daily).
I think the thing that really sells this movie for me though are the characters. Frank (Washington) is a no-nonsense train veteran with nothing really to gain by being a hero but still willing to risk his life. His partner, Will (Pine) is the type of guy who could either step up when needed or choose not to be a hero while Connie (Dawson) was the perfect go-between, standing up for the two men trying to make a difference when her boss (Dunn) was refusing to listen to her.
Also, while most of the movie lacks a significant amount of action (that runaway train didn't look like it was traveling at even half the speed they claimed), the final scenes were fun to watch because there was quite a bit of suspense and danger while their attempt to slow the train seemed like a long shot at best and possibly a suicide mission at worst.
Final Opinion: There are times when the movie is admittedly a little dull, but the overall film does a decent job portraying a realistic disaster scenario and makes full use of its cast. It's worth watching for that.
My Grade: B
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Here are some reviews of other train-related movies:
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