Unstoppable is an action/thriller movie about a runaway train that threatens to destroy a city in western Pennsylvania starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine. It is based on a true story about a runaway train incident in 2001 where a similar situation occurred, although not nearly as dramatic or as dangerous as the runaway train in “Unstoppable” was.
The first thing that I liked about this movie was the acting and who starred in it. I thought Denzel Washington’s acting in this movie was first class like 100% of his other films and I didn’t expect anything less. At times watching this movie I really believed Washington was the person he was playing; Frank Barnes a train operator who has been working on Pennsylvania railroads for decades. Other minor stars included Chris Pine who was a fine compliment to Washington and played his role as the sidekick very well. And Rosario Dawson also put up a very convincing performance that kept me at the edge of my seat. There was a nice synergy during most of the movie between Pine and Washington that kept me entertained during the slower parts of the movie. Pine played the brash young know it all and Washington played the experienced calm veteran and somewhere along the line they both found a common ground with each other and became friends. I was actually surprised at how well Pine acted with Washington and it made me want to check out more of his films.
The second thing about this movie I liked was the setting. Western Pennsylvania is a perfect place to have a movie like this take place. Intertwining the unnatural threat of a train exploding and destroying a town with the beautiful forestry and scenery of the railroads in Pennsylvania really increased the aestheticism of this movie. Not only did the setting increase the look of the movie but also the realism, I really could see something like this happening in real life in any train network in America or anywhere else in the world for that matter.
Lastly the plot of this movie was intense, this was easily my favorite action movie from 2010. I was excited the entire time wondering what would happen next and how the movie would climax. The whole premise of an explosive train barreling towards a city and watching all the failed attempts at stopping it with no one knowing how to stop the train makes the movie valuable popcorn eating action flick material. Add in the fact that Denzel Washington’s acting was on point and how visually pleasing the movie was I would rate this movie a 9.5/10.
