Review of Unstoppable (2010) by Philip R — 11 May 2013

Itâ(TM)s SPEED on a train when Academy Award winner Denzel Washington (2001 â" Best Actor, Training Day) and Director Tony Scott (Top Gun, True Romance, Days of Thunder), the team that brought us 1995â(TM)s CRIMSON TIDE, 2004â(TM)s MAN ON FIRE, 2006â(TM)s DÃJÃ VU, and 2009â(TM)s THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123, reunite for the fifth time in 20th Century Foxâ(TM)s 2010 adrenaline rush, action film UNSTOPPABLE.

Inspired by true events, the film tells the story about a railroad company frantically working to prevent a major disaster from an unmanned, half-mile-long freight train, essentially a missile the size of New Yorkâ(TM)s Chrysler building, thatâ(TM)s dangerously carrying a cargo of combustible liquids and poisonous gas while a veteran locomotive engineer Frank Barnes (Washington) and a young rookie conductor Will Colson (Chris Pine) race against time to stop it.

The film also stars Rosario Dawson (Sin City) as train yardmaster Connie Hooper, Ethan Suplee (TVâ(TM)s My Name is Earl) as train engineer Dewey, T.J. Miller (Cloverfield) as train hostler Gilleece, Kevin Corrigan (The Departed) as Inspector Werner, Jessy Schram (Hallmark Channelâ(TM)s Jane Doe TV films) as Willâ(TM)s wife Darcy, Lew Temple (Rob Zombieâ(TM)s The Devilâ(TM)s Rejects and Halloween) as railroad welder Ned Oldham, Aisha Hinds (TVâ(TM)s Detroit 1-8-7) as the Railway Safety Campaign Coordinator, and Kevin Dunn (Transformers) as Hooperâ(TM)s superior Oscar Galvin.

I really enjoyed this film the same way when I saw THE A-TEAM in the theater. I thought both Washington and Pineâ(TM)s performances as the two were both funny and fantastic. Tony Scott said, in his own words, âthat this for me was physically and mentally, the toughest movie Iâ(TM)ve ever doneâ?.

Why? Because he had make this movie, with a budget of $100,000,000, filming everything practically in-camera, from big action sequences, lots of stunts, 360 camera shots, use very little CGI as possible while a real moving train was going 50 mph, all throughout the state of Pennsylvania and some selective towns in New York and Ohio.

Make no mistake when you see Denzelâ(TM)s character running on top of a moving train, That really is Denzel doing that and he did wear a safety harness while filming it. Not only did Tony reunite with Denzel, he reunited with certain crew members he worked before in the past like Music composer Harry Gregson-Williams (Enemy of the State, Man on Fire, The Taking of Pelham 123) and Film Editor Chris Lebenzon (Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II, Crimson Tide).

With incredible action sequences and amazing stunts, UNSTOPPABLE is one of the best movies that Tony Scott has ever directed and one of the best films Iâ(TM)ve seen in 2010. I totally recommend it to all movie lovers and again from the words of Tony Scott: âIt never lets you off the hookâ?