Another Tony Scott/Denzel Washington collaboration is on offer here, and from the poster alone it is pretty obvious this is a straight up action film. Previous offerings were Deja-vu, which thoroughly entertained me and the magnificent Man on Fire. Unstoppable is on the same level as The Taking of Pelham 123 with the obvious comparisons of a tense, against the clock vehicle action movie.
For me, a great action film should look amazing, have some great one liners and not take itself too seriously. Unstoppable fulfils two out of three of those, falling down on the one liners front. The shots of the high-speed trains and the explosions are faultless, authentic and build up the tension extremely well. With a constant invasion of sound from the locomotive every time it is on screen you are immersed in the situation unfolding around you.
With Denzel Washington running across train carriages travelling at over 60mph like the T-1000 and fist in the air celebrations from the train control room at every high point, Scott plays the humour card at exactly the right times. The modern day constant media frenzy is brought to us by the mocking of Fox news and their ridiculous step by step accounts of the situation and irrelevant eye witness accounts. Interspersed throughout the film and used to show the developing circumstances Scott uses a vantage point that is frequently being shoved in our face via the news broadcasters.
I thought Chris Pine was excellent in Star Trek, so was looking forward to his performance in this film. Pine is believable in his role as a rookie conductor but with the out of control train getting the most screen time, there isn’t really much acting to judge. Washington and Pine have a good chemistry and the backstory to their characters is one that adds to the developing relationship between them.
Overall, a solid action film that delivers; slightly predictable but entertaining.
Out in the UK on 24th November. You can watch the trailer here
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