Denzel Washington, Chris Pine Star in Slick, Entertaining ‘Unstoppable’

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Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – “Unstoppable” plays perfectly to Tony Scott’s flashy strengths as a director. There’s no deep meaning or character-driven dialogue for him to clutter up with his style over substance aesthetic. And so the film truly works as a great slice of escapist entertainment as long as you know what to expect.

So what should you expect? Runaway train. Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, and Rosario Dawson trying to stop runaway train. That’s about it. The film not only is short on character, its villain is a giant machine. It’s like “The Taking of Pelham 123” with John Travolta’s character replaced by a locomotive. For those intellectually-discerning viewers looking for something that appeals more to the skills they learned dissecting films in college classes, “Unstoppable” will be like fast food to someone who hasn’t been to McDonald’s in twenty years. But the fact is that sometimes fast food tastes really good. Like a Big Mac, “Unstoppable” may not be that good for you, but it will probably leave a smile on your face.

The story has supposedly been inspired by true events (although it’s not hard to believe that said “true events” just means there was a train that went real fast one day…I think that’s all you need for an “inspired by” credit) and starts when a truly-horrendous pair of train workers (Ethan Suplee & TJ Miller) make a series of mistakes that lead to a gigantic train stocked with toxic chemicals to barrel down a track unmanned, on full throttle, and with no air brakes. Not only do the powers that control these massive machines (including Dawson) have to worry about getting all other trains off the track but they also have a ticking clock in that if the speeding skyscraper gets to a certain curve at its current speed than it will surely derail and take hundreds of lives.

Unstoppable
Unstoppable
Photo credit: Fox

For a surprisingly large portion of “Unstoppable,” Frank (Denzel Washington) and Will (Chris Pine) are secondary characters to the “stop the train” action. We learn a little bit about the two men – Frank has two daughters that work at Hooters and newcomer Will has some relationship issues that have led to legal involvement. Of course, Frank is near the end of his line as a conductor and Will is just beginning. Both men will ultimately be the only thing standing between train disaster and safety and anyone who has ever seen a movie will know how it’s all going to turn out.

And that’s the thing about “Unstoppable.” It’s not the kind of film designed to shock the audience with a surprising plot twist. Keyser Soze isn’t driving the train. It is as straightforward and uncomplicated an action film as you’ve seen all year. And yet it’s keenly aware of that fact and so it delivers on what it sets out to do. It’s the action films that think they’re more than they are or fail at the basic elements of the genre that don’t work. “Unstoppable” isn’t complex but it’s efficient and entertaining.

A movie like “Unstoppable” is a perfect fit for Tony Scott. One of our flashiest mainstream directors, he can chop together shots of a moving train like very few other directors. And he’s clearly formed a bond with regular star Denzel Washington. You could say that the two men aren’t challenging themselves with a work like “Unstoppable” but that would underestimate the skill it takes to make a film like this one so immensely watchable. As proven by the lack of quality popcorn entertainment on the market, it’s not that easy to make a film like “Unstoppable” hum. It takes incredible editing skills, believable work by Washington & Pine, and an awareness of where to trim the fat to make a lean machine of a movie.

Unstoppable
Unstoppable
Photo credit: Fox

To be fair, truly great mainstream entertainment can also appeal to the brain and heart instead of just the gut. Scott’s film gets the important elements right but misses a few targets around the perimeter. For example, Kevin Corrigan is wasted in a plot device role and Kevin Dunn is downright horrendous as the only human villain of the piece, a suit who never leaves the boardroom as he tries to lower the costs sure to come if the train derails. His character is completely unnecessary and it would have actually worked better if we spent more time with Pine and Washington and less with the people on phones and in front of computers.

“Unstoppable” delivers on what it promises. It’s a slick slice of escapist entertainment that should keep most people smiling and occasionally even on the edge of their seats through its brief running time. Could it have been more memorable than a piece of movie fast food? Sure. It evaporates from your mind as soon as it’s over but there is plenty of awards bait this season to satisfy that element of your movie jones. “Unstoppable” may not be great art but it is great fun.

‘Unstoppable’ stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Kevin Dunn, and Kevin Corrigan. It was directed by Tony Scott. It opens nationwide on November 12th, 2010. It is rated PG-13.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

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