Unstoppable -A DVD Review

When I first saw the trailers for Unstoppable I thought it seemed like a one-track idea for a Chris Pine vehicle following the success of his turn in Star Trek. Hee's the next big thing, the It Boy, that kinda crap. Denzel was a draw cos he's great in everything, but ultimately it looked a little weak. Another case of bad marketing. I seriously think there needs to be a revolution in film marketing because those people are NOT earning their money. I wasn't all that interested in seeing this one. Thank god for the critics. They loved it, as did my personal god Roger Ebert, so I decided to give it a look. Glad I did. I'll tell you why.

The Skinny:

Will (Chris Pine), a freshly graduated conductor is new to the railyard. He is meant to get training from Frank (Denzel), a veteran engineer. Their training consists of moving a locomotive to another location to connect to a train and bring to another location. Simple enough. But meanwhile, back at the yard a pair of idiot workers manage to lose control of a train consisting of... I forget... fifty cars or something. It's a lot! Anyway, as the unmanned train (full of lethal explosives) approaches a heavily populated town, Yardmaster Connie (Rosario Dawson) realizes the intended company plan to save the train won't work and decides to go with an idea put forth by veteran Frank. With Will's help they try to stop the train and avoid what is constantly referred to in the film as "the worst disaster in the history of the state of Pennsylvania". With media helicopters and ground crews following their every move we watch as the two men try to avoid disaster. But can they do it? The odds are WAY against them!

This film started out with an intention. It felt like something was gonna happen. The music cued me in to that. Dun-dun. Dun-dun. That kind've thing. But it wasn't out of place. The opening scenes felt like you were being set up for something, which you are, but it was done well. If I think of a train with a lot of cars I think of it starting with purpose, but slowly. It gradually picks up speed, never shying from it's purpose, and eventually it's running full throttle and there's nothing you can do to slow it. Thats how Unstoppable felt. I was fully invested in this film from minute one, and the resulting journey was exhilerating! With some obvious personal struggle invovled for the characters (which was mostly unnecesarry but not distracting) the mains are motivated by sheer need! They HAVE to do this! It's a moral imperative! What they go through in the course of the story is both inspiring and tragic. Exciting and sad. They really are two fully developed characters doing what they have to do in the most precarious circumstance. The story is beautifully told by director Tony Scott (Top Gun, The remake of The Taking of Pelham 123), and was written for the screen by Mark Bomback (the awesome Live Free Or Die Hard). Unstoppable was called by Roger Ebert "a superb film". Nuff said.

Rosario Dawson as Yardmaster Connie was great as the go between for the right now and the corporate office. She communicated with Frank and Will and grounded the story. She was tough, cool, and believable. I'd let her do my friggin taxes now.

Unstoppable is an excellent film, worth seeing not just for action junkies, but for fans of decent cinema. It was an awesome experience!

DVD currently on shelves as of Feb. 15.