Unstoppable

Unstoppable is the kind of stripped back action thriller you rarely seem to get these days. Purely and simple it is the story of a runaway train and the people trying to stop it before it derails in the middle of a town and that's about it.

There is no romantic subplot to speak of (though worried family members of course feature), no moralising, no political agendas, just some guys (and gals) trying to stop a train who a misguided company boss for a bit of booing.

Once things get rolling there is no doubt that Tony Scott is a wise choice for this moving as his energetic style dovetails nicely to project a sense of constant movement and people trying to keep with a situation that is spiraling out of control (although he does manage to pack in quite a lot of helicopters for a film about trains).

A well used mechanic by the director is the frequently switches to news camera footage as the drama unfolds, these little sections allow for the use of maps to show us where everything is, stats on the number of people endangered and recaps on the plans to stop the runaway freight train in case the audience wasn't paying enough attention.

Denzel Washington and Chris Pine prove a capable central paring, who at first of course don't get along but buddy up across the film's runtime with one the veteran and the other rookie. A classic setup yes, but it still works well. Washington is always reliable and this kind of honorable blue collar man is the sort of role he works well in, Chris Pine shows he is more than just a certain Starship captain even if he isn't really called upon to do anything much more than charmingly a bit cocky (like a certain captain)

And backing them up is Rosario Dawson as a rail company co-coordinator and again whilst she isn't called upon to do anything too heavy she delivers what she has well in a role where her gender is irrelevant. She's not romantically involved with any of the other cat nor is ability called in doubt because she is a woman (which so often the case in these kind of films). She's just a professional doing all she can.

One of the real plus points of the film is the almost total lack of CGI (there probably is some but nothing I really noticed - most likely during the high speed curve glimpsed in the trailer above) as the action is mostly done with good old school stunt work. Where real trains are driven through real trucks and real people run along the top of real speeding trains.

One breathless sequence sees Pine's character struggling to couple train cars together at over 70mph whilst blinded by grain escaping from one of the cars. It's an exciting sequence and although you know I'll survive it's tense as he disappears from view seemingly under the train.

How close things are to the events that inspired the film I don't know but I do know it is a thoroughly entertaining race against time thriller with a strong cast and real sense of momentum.