REVIEW: Film is predictable, captivating and unstoppable
With my hands cupped around my mouth, without blinking once, afraid I would miss something, “Unstoppable” had me at the edge of my seat, literally. This is the first thriller I have seen in months. I was not disappointed.
The eerie music from scene one set the mood. Star Trek’s Chris Pine plays the hero, no surprise there. His character is Will, who recently had a change of occupation to work with trains. On his first day on the job, expected to be a normal day, Will meets his co-worker and co-hero, Frank (Denzel Washington).
Frank has been working with the railroads for almost 30 years. With his experience and Will’s fast reflexes and strength, you’ve got yourself quite a pair. A combination of “human error and bad luck,” an unmanned train is unstoppable and headed to a heavily populated city.
The story, set in Pennsylvania, is inspired by true events. On the same track as the toxic, uncontrolled train, a train full of elementary kids on a field trip and another with two working men, Will and Frank, are headed straight for chaos.
When the boss’ boss finds out, he doesn’t want the company to lose money and orders a risky derailing. The district boss disobeys orders and gives the go ahead to Will and Frank to take matters into their own hands. Playing chicken with the iron horse, those ordinary engineers, who couldn’t be more opposite, attempt to stop it before it reaches Stanton.
Though it was predictable, the how, was what made the movie so exciting. I didn’t care that I knew what would happen but how they would get there.
With believable performances by all the actors, leading and supporting, “Unstoppable” was a success. Will they win academy awards for it? Probably not, however, the Pine and Washington combo offered an impeccable depiction of what I perceive life on the railroad to be.
Though Denzel Washington is well-known and did a fine job in “Unstoppable,” I regret to say he doesn’t have much diversity. His dramatic roles are well-done but he hasn’t taken on anything different. Pine is still a newcomer in Hollywood and these past two blockbuster hits give me high hopes for his future.
Acting skills can’t pull the weight of a film but another characteristic of this action-flick that made it triumph was the use of subtle graphics. The camera captured trains moving towards each other intentionally and risking a head-on collision. Exciting graphics from large explosions and crashes gave the movie something a little extra. Of course, the influence of Hollywood is inevitable when it comes to making something big, bigger.
Without the loud sound of a million pounds of metal colliding with cars and other trains and the intense music playing throughout, the movie would be just another boring drama. Opposed to some other action-packed films, “Unstoppable” set up the story first.
Nothing exploded and no one got shot in the opening scene. It had a rather smooth transition. Everything was clear from the beginning because of the, introduction, if you will. Basically, it was a well-rounded film that was captivating enough that those two hours flew by.
Finishing the movie peeking between the fingers covering my eyes, almost falling off my seat, the movie was over. It didn’t have a long ending or drawn out scenes but I wasn’t left wanting more. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The length of the film was reasonable and besides my growling stomach, I left satisfied.
– anike.pullens@aggiemail.usu.edu