UNSTOPPABLE (2010)

MyRating: YYY1/2

Director: Tony Scott

Cast: Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Kevin Dunn, Lew Temple, Ethan Suplee, Jeff Wincott

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for sequences of action and peril, and some language

A runaway train with no crews in it, carrying a cargo of toxic chemicals, lets loose on the Pennsylvania railway tracks in high speed and opposing traffic, and endangers the community across the state. A senior engineer, Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington) and a young inexperienced conductor, Will Colson (Chris Pine), who work together for the first time and happen to be on the railway tracks at the same time in a separate locomotive, are put into a situation to chase the runaway train. Guided from the railway office by a train yardmaster Connie Hooper (Rosario Dawson), they have to race against the time to catch and put the train under control, before it derails and causes a deathly catastrophe into a highly populated town.

This is a good action thriller by Tony Scott, with continuous tension and rush that will put you at the edge of your seat in a high speed ride. After the not so satisfying The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009), also with the similar train theme and the same star Denzel Washington, Tony Scott pulled this one right. Actually this was the 5th collaboration between Mr. Scott and Mr. Washington, the others were Crimson Tide (1995), Man on Fire (2004) and Deja Vu (2006). The action was well paced with gripping story. The film was of Tony Scott's style, with fast camera works and stylish flash jumping scene editing, but it was not overdone as some of his films, that sometimes for me, was becoming a bit annoying and distracting, and looked like MTV videoclips. But this one not. He put all his style in the right proportion in this film.

The casts were great. Denzel Washington was good, as always. And Chris Pine is definitely a hot commodity after the success of Star Trek reboot (2009). Their convincing performances and heroic attempts throughout the film made this movie interesting and fun to watch. Two actor from different generations share actions in one screen. There were some improbable and over the top scenes that were too good to be true for two ordinary citizens like Frank and Will, including jumping from one coach to other coach of a running train and jumping from a car to the locomotive, but they were necessary to spice up the actions and pump up the adrenalines. And all of these were handled nicely by Scott, that made this movie to become an entertaining one.

Next time you ride on a train, don't forget to bring these guys with you. (MJ)