Blu-Ray Review: Slick, Entertaining ‘Unstoppable’ With Denzel Washington, Chris Pine

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CHICAGO – Tony Scott will clearly never have the critical reputation of his brother Ridley (as he’ll never make a film as accomplished as “Alien” or “Blade Runner”) but he has carved out his own niche of high-caliber action films, most of them starring Denzel Washington. The team of Denzel and Tony found another hit in the runaway train movie “Unstoppable,” now available on Blu-ray and DVD, which was actually Scott’s highest domestic box office success in 12 years (and made over $160 million worldwide).

HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0

“Unstoppable” plays perfectly to Tony Scott’s flashy strengths as a director. There’s no deep meaning or character-driven dialogue for him to clutter up with his style over substance aesthetic. And so the film truly works as a great slice of escapist entertainment; a perfect fit for the gloomy days of late winter.

Unstoppable was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on February 15th, 2011
Unstoppable was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on February 15th, 2011
Photo credit: Fox Home Video

Mark Bomback’s script is wonderfully simple — stop the runaway train. That’s really all there is to it. The film is so low on character development that the villain of the piece is a hunk of metal. Supposedly “inspired by true events” (which could mean nothing more than there once was a train that went fast), “Unstoppable” starts when a truly-horrendous pair of train workers (Ethan Suplee & TJ Miller) make a series of mistakes that lead to a gigantic train stocked with toxic chemicals to barrel down a track unmanned, on full throttle, and with no air brakes. Not only do the powers that control these massive machines (including Rosario Dawson) have to worry about getting all other trains off the track but they also have a ticking clock in that if the speeding skyscraper gets to a certain curve at its current speed than it will surely derail and take hundreds of lives.

Unstoppable was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on February 15th, 2011
Unstoppable was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on February 15th, 2011
Photo credit: Fox Home Video

For most of “Unstoppable,” the lead characters — Frank (Denzel Washington) and Will (Chris Pine) — are secondary to the “stop the train” action. There are bits of character detail — Frank has two daughters that work at Hooters and newcomer Will has some relationship issues that have led to legal involvement. Of course, Frank is near the end of his line as a conductor and Will is just beginning. Both men will ultimately be the only thing standing between train disaster and safety and anyone who has ever seen a movie will know how it’s all going to turn out.

There’s a comforting predictability to “Unstoppable.” We know more or less what will happen. It is the opposite of “Inception” in that way. And yet it’s keenly aware of that fact and so it delivers on what it sets out to do. It’s the action films that think they’re more than they are or fail at the basic elements of the genre that don’t work. “Unstoppable” isn’t complex but it’s efficient and entertaining.

A movie like “Unstoppable” is a perfect fit for Tony Scott. One of our flashiest mainstream directors, he can chop together shots of a moving train like very few other directors. And he’s clearly formed a bond with regular star Denzel Washington. You could say that the two men aren’t challenging themselves with a work like “Unstoppable” but that would underestimate the skill it takes to make a film like this one so immensely watchable. As proven by the lack of quality popcorn entertainment on the market, it’s not that easy to make a film like “Unstoppable” hum. It takes incredible editing skills, believable work by Washington & Pine, and an awareness of wear to trim the fat to make a lean machine of a movie.


The supporting characters of “Unstoppable,” especially the plot devices played by Kevin Dunn and Kevin Corrigan, are more paper-thin than they needed to be. Dunn’s villainous suit is particularly a waste of time. It’s clearly a part that someone felt necessary to add a human villain to the piece but it doesn’t work. Still, it’s not long before the train is back and “Unstoppable” is clicking as the piece of escapist entertainment it was meant to be.

Special Features:
o Audio Commentary with Director Tony Scott
o The Fastest Track: Unleashing Unstoppable
o Derailed: Anatomy of a Scene
o Hanging Off the Train: Stunt Work
o Of the Rails with the Director and Cast
o Tracking the Story: Unstoppable Script Development
o Digital Copy

‘Unstoppable’ stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Kevin Dunn, and Kevin Corrigan. It was directed by Tony Scott. It was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on February 15th, 2011. It is rated PG-13 and runs 98 minutes.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

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