Unstoppable (2010)

Tony Scott is not new in making action thrillers; this fact is relatively evident from his earlier notable titles like The Taking of Pelham 123, Top Gun, Man on Fire etc. Unstoppable is however an unique movie because here the contender is not a person but a rogue freight train.

Plot : Will (Chris Pine) a rookie joins as a conductor, charged with the management of a freight train. His assignment for the day was to assist Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington) a veteran engineer. As both these characters get to know more about each other in some other part of Pennsylvania a mishap happens. Due to some erroneous calculation, a freight train led by locomotive 777 sets off to the main track, unmanned with an alarming speed. Since the cargo contained high amount of molten phenol & hazardous material it was required to stop it before it got into a populated area. As various attempts to stop the locomotive fails, it falls to Barnes & Will’s joint endeavor to stop the speeding locomotive with the remote assistance of yardmaster Connie Hopper (Rosario Dawson). So how they team up to stop the train is what this movie all about.

Though inspired from true incident, little bit of dramatization was done for the cinematic effect. This was an action driven story & Scott has been successful in keeping it that way. Just like the locomotive’s startling momentum the narration too brisked in the final stage. This movie would certainly keep most of the audiences at their edge even though we could foresee the possible outcome. With a balanced pace & overall length, Unstoppable succeeds in elevating the heart rate before things are set on to the right track.

My Rating : 8/10