Review: Unstoppable (2010)

Director Tony Scott's Unstoppable tells the tale of an absurd first day on the job for a rookie conductor named Will (Chris Pine). Tutoring Will is an experienced veteran engineer- Frank (Denzel Washington). Will- not looking forward to being hounded as a rookie on his first day by old-timers- and Frank- upset at the fact that the industry continuously brings in new blood to weed out such old-timers as himself- have no idea what kind of high-octane, nerve-racking day is ahead of them. Young, dumb, full of fun engineer Dewey (Ethan Suplee, Remember the Titans, My Name is Earl) lets a twenty-six car locomotive carrying toxic chemicals get away from him going full throttle. At the rate this train of death is traveling, it is likely to run off the tracks in Stanton, PA and has the ability to decimate it from existence. The question is: will the brave/crazy Frank and Will have what it takes to stop it? I'll admit I was skeptical about the second consecutive film by Tony Scott being about issues on a train. However, leaving the theater I was quite pleased to have witnessed Scott returning to his roots by delivering his most exciting, lovable film since Top Gun. It is easy to give an audience non-stop action from start to finish (*cough* Michael Bay *cough*), but to include some exceptional character development and astonishing tension that will keep you in your seat is another thing. A director has something to be proud of when audiences claim that the final fifteen minutes of a film had them on edge, but in Unstoppable's one hour and thirty-eight minute running time the viewer will be on edge for one hour and thirty minutes. The Scott brothers (Tony, and Ridley- Alien, Gladiator), tend to stick with Denzel (i.e. American Gangster, De Ja Vu, Man on Fire), and it works. For the first time together on the big screen, the chemistry between Pine and Washington was that of two long-time friends. This, along with tremendous direction, camera work, and simplistic plot, makes a perfect formula for a marvelous film. Is Unstoppable slightly predictable and been there-done that? Absolutely, but what isn't? This film blasts its way to the top of my list for 2010 faster than the train that carries it, earning it 31/2 stars.