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Based on a real runaway train incident. On May 15, 2001, a 47-car CSX locomotive left a Toledo, Ohio rail yard without an engineer and wasn't stopped until it had run 66 miles through three counties. No one was injured in the incident.
How do you stop an unmanned train that's travelling over 70 miles per hour and carrying highly combustible cargo as it barrels through populated towns? That's exactly what the entire state of Pennsylvania is trying to figure out in Tony Scott's latest adrenaline-pumped thriller, Unstoppable.
Based on a real life incident in Ohio, Unstoppable tells the story of a daring act of heroism by veteran train engineer Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington) and rookie conductor Will Colson (Chris Pine) as they try to stop the 777 before it derails and takes out an entire town. Helping them from afar is dispatcher Connie Hooper (Rosario Dawson) who communicates with the two via radio.
Almost immediately, you are put right into the action. From there, it's a 98 minute roller coaster (or train ride) filled with suspense and excitement. The trailers makes it seem like one of the big elements of the film is the fact that there is a train full of school kids traveling against the missile on wheels and that it's a race against time before they collide. In actually, that event gets cleared up pretty quickly. The big problem is the elevated curve in a highly populated city that's coming up.
The film is portrayed from various angles such as inside the train with Frank and Will and from the dispatch center with Connie. News coverage of the incident is also another main source. This makes everything appear more realistic and raises the urgency of the situation. You begin to actually care about the people involved and how they're going to stop this runaway train.
There are times where the suspense is broken up with comedic banter between Washington and Pine. Then there's the larger-than-life character of Ned Oldham (Lew Temple) who acts like a modern day cowboy. He's a little bit wacky but manages to have a few good lines. At times, the comedy is much welcomed but on occasion, you'll shake your head in shame.
Unstoppable takes you for quite an exhilarating train ride that doesn't stop. It can be a little too fast-paced for some and the jokes can be downright laughable (not in a good way) but the story always manages to bring you back.
- Review by Matt Rodriguez
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