If it’s Tony Scott at the helm, then you can expect high-octane action. And this film is no different.
Film: Unstoppable (U/A)
Cast: Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Ethan Suplee, Kevin Dunn
Director: Tony Scott
Rating: ***
If it’s Tony Scott at the helm, then you can expect high-octane action. It’s a given. All his films so far (Top Gun, Crimson Tide, Man on Fire, Déjà Vu) have slick action as their USP. This one is no different. The story is geared for that extra thrill factor.
It is also based on true-life events that happened in 2001 when a train travelled for 61 miles from Toledo, Ohio, without anyone aboard.
Screenwriter Mark Bomback uses that base idea to set up a critical situation with eight cars of highly inflammable material travelling at unimaginable speeds right through highly populated regions.
The culprit is an engineer (Suplee) who mistakenly puts the locomotive in full throttle before climbing out of the cab. Yardmaster Connie Hooper (Dawson), the lone woman in a male-dominated work environment, tries to take it in her stride and keep down the anxiety levels, but panic is surely round the corner.
Scott adds volatility to the situation by setting up explosions and obstacles on the track of the runaway train. In order to increase the visual effect, Scott frequently uses news cameras that help to switch among as many angles as possible. As a result you won’t find a single scene with any particular point of view.
The thrill lies in the sheer staggering magnitude of the disaster-on-wheels and the moment-to-moment coverage replete with animated worst-case scenario diagrams and instant replays while engaging several helicopters co-opted for this effectively orchestrated mission impossible.
The result is gripping, full-on energetic and viscerally entertaining. Despite the linear plot, Scott, Bomback, the editors Chris Lebenzon and Robert Duffy, cameraman Ben Serensin, sound designer William B Kaplan and music director Harry Gregson-Williams together manage to create several high-yielding dramatic moments — enough to keep you on the edge of your seats for most of this picture’s running time!
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