Review: Unstoppable

As I was browsing the apps on the Apple store recently I found myself wondering why there are so many train apps about at the moment and then it hit me… there’s a film coming out about trains and it stars Denzel Washington and Chris Pine and it’s called Unstoppable.

Now you don’t have to be a genius to work out what it’s about, actually it helps if you’re a redneck with a tache, a mullet and watch Sky/Fox News 24/7 as that’s who it’s aiming for.

Unstoppable is the “based on a true story” tale of a train laden with volatile chemicals that goes on the rampage across middle America after dumb-as-a-bag-of-hammers yard boy Dewey (My Name is Earl's Ethan Suplee) forgets to apply the brakes before getting off the moving train to change tracks. The train then heads off at full tilt on a collision course with a tight bend pursued by wily old engineer Frank (Denzel) and new boy Will (Pine) who, as it happens, don’t actually see eye to eye.

Talk about missing the train completely, Unstoppable is a barely passable action drama (I’d normally say thriller but it lacked any actual thrills due to lousy editing) from old action guru Tony Scott of Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop 2 and Man on Fire fame.

The problems are many, and I could spend all day listing them, but the main issues are with Scott's obsession with jump cuts and microscopic editing that leaves you wondering if what you just saw actually happened. This is nothing new to anyone who’s seen any of his previous films, but for some strange reason Unstoppable looks like it was rushed through editing in order to get onto the screens before the battle for the Christmas box-office begins.

Off the rails

There’s no doubt the film looks good, and with a reported budget of US$100million it should, but it unravels the minute we are off the train and dealing with the clichéd characters on display.

There’s the grumpy old train driver, the newbie, the corporate guy, the idiot, the redneck and the principled-but-beautiful yard boss played by Rosario Dawson.

Coupled with a story that you couldn’t make up if you tried (although obviously someone did or it wouldn’t be a film) and a chain of events that will leave some yawning in disbelief and which veers from the idiotic to the downright ridiculous.

It’s not helped by Scott's decision to tell the story from a media perspective with Fox News updates every few minutes and news helicopters buzzing around like flies on… well, you know.

As for the acting, this is a Tony Scott production so no one will be winning any Oscars. The cast do what they can with the CSI-style dialogue they are given and for the most they handle it well. This being Denzel's fifth collaboration in the last fifteen years with Scott means he gets to chew the scenery while Chris Pine (Star Trek) bats his baby blues and looks sullen whenever he can.

While not exactly a train wreck of a movie there are better things to do when you've next got a spare two hours.

Andrew Kennedy