Review of Unstoppable (2010) by Filipeneto — 02 Nov 2019

A competent, engaging and well-built action movie.

This film, based very lightly on an incident that actually happened, chronicles how a large freight train rode uncontrollably at breakneck speed for tens of kilometers without a driver, and attempts to stop it before it derailed and caused casualties or damage. incalculable.

Directed by Tony Scott (who seems to have a crush on trains, this being his second movie involving one, a year after he directed and released "Taking of Pelham 123") is a very competent action movie, which pleased me and arrested until the end. It's a well-built movie, with strong assumptions and a positive development, where all the tension is slowly built and increasing as attempts to stop the train fail one after the other. The film is good at its efforts to convince us of the danger that that runaway train poses, especially to innocent people who live or are in the immediate vicinity of the railway line. We really cheer for them, and for the brave railmen who, on the ground, try to put a stop to that train.

Denzel Washington is, as usual, a good protagonist, even though he has to share the spotlight with Chris Pine, who is also a capable actor with camera presence. Both are very good when they play together, and the dialogues between them are some of the deepest and most reflective moments in the movie. If one embodies the action scenes, the other is the "wise old man" in the movie. Rosario Dawson is a good addition to the cast, with a good job and a nice presence. The rest of the cast, however, does not stand out or merit note. They do what they should do without standing out.

Technically, the film bets heavily on photography and a mode of filming that accentuates the speed of what is being filmed. So the train always seems much faster than it probably will. There is little footage with the still camera, which was a conscious, smart bet from Scott. Sound effects help a lot, and were used competently.

In short, this is a competent action movie that can arrest us from the start. It's not brilliant, but it does engage the audience and give them two hours of quality entertainment. It promises no more than that, and that is what it gives us.