Movie Review - Unstoppable

Unstoppable - **1/2

Directed by:  Tony Scott

Starring:  Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson

Review:  From Tony Scott we have come to expect the expected.  He has not made his money through revelatory movies or waxing poetic about the human condition.  Scott has made his money and his career through doing exactly what you want from a movie like his most recent turn ‘Unstoppable.’  ‘Unstoppable’ is a movie about a runaway train which carries with it, you guessed, hazardous highly combustible materials that if derailed will most likely wipe out everything within a mile or two radius.

From such a premise you would expect lots of high speed trains, lots of explosions, some daring stunts, and some likeable characters who don’t go too in depth, but you want them to come out on top.  What you think is what you get in this movie.  Keep in mind that this does not make such a movie bad, quite the contrary in this case as I enjoyed this movie. 

Denzel always brings his A-game and ‘Unstoppable’ did not buck the trend.  Despite the fact that he was in ‘Star Trek’ I like Chris Pine and he is quickly shooting up the Hollywood ladder to stardom.  Together they have a solid on-screen relationship that lends itself well to material and the moment.  As clichéd as their relationship is it works.  The brash new guy versus the old savvy veteran who knows he’s on his way out, and is semi resentful if he didn’t like the kid and see some of himself in him.  That is their relationship in this movie to a T, but again, it works.  With Rosario Dawson actually showing up and playing a solid supporting role the interplay of everything works well with the action and makes for quite an enjoyable experience.

The movie never goes too far in depth into much, but it does touch on some hot button issues such as the economy and corporate greed when it comes to PR and saving their own @$$es vs doing the right thing and treating their employees with respect.  There is an interplay with a company executive and the main characters that shows the polarizing difference between being in the office at the top of the skyrise and actually being on the front lines doing the work.  It’s nothing that’s going to blow you away, but it is definitely something that adds to a movie like this and gives it a little more meat when you get down to it.

While not the best made film and definitely plays up on a lot of action clichés, it is a well done little suspense film and I would say it’s worth your time in this year of horrible dreck that has been put out.