The thing about a movie like “Unstoppable” is that you know the problem (a runaway train) can’t be solved early in the movie, because then there wouldn’t be an end of the movie. And you know the problem won’t be fixed by one of the characters being played by a no-name actors. No, only the stars can be the heroes.
So you just have to go along for the ride. And in the case of “Unstoppable”, the ride is quite exciting and enjoyable.
Chris Pine (“Star Trek”) stars as Will. He’s just beginning a job working on the railroad, and having problems with his marriage. Will gets assigned to work with Frank (Denzel Washington) on train 1206 for the day. Frank’s spent the past 28 years working for the company.
Meantime, some mistakes by a few young workers causes an unmanned train, with a cargo that includes dangerous chemicals, to take off and begin traveling, up to 70 mph, through several towns. The company tries to stop the runaway train but fails, but when Frank and Will find out what’s happening they decide to take action and try to stop train 777 and save the day.
The story of “Unstoppable” is inspired by true events: An incident involving and unmanned train occurred back in 2001 in Ohio (and another happened 4 years later). I was surprised to learn that, even though the names of the people involved and the company were changed for the film, the basic story is exactly how it happened in real life.
Director Tony Scott tries to give the film a realistic look and he succeeds with the dialogue and great action scenes. There’s a little too many handheld camera shots, but I understand why he used them. My biggest problem with the film was the use of TV reporters constantly giving us updates on what was going on. Obviously this would be a huge if it were happening in real life, but we don’t need a reporter, even 30-seconds telling us who’s doing what and what’s going to happen.
Washington, Pine and Rosario Dawson (who plays the manager of the railyard) all give solid performances. Because I didn’t know much about the true events, I had no idea what was going to happen at the end. But even if you do know, the climax will still be thrilling.
“Unstoppable” is rated PG-13, for peril and some adult language. It’s fine for kids 10 and up. In fact it’s one of the more tame PG-13 action films of the year, so families can enjoy this one together.
On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, “Unstoppable” gets a solid B.