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Review: Unstoppable

Washington, Dawson, Pine can only hope it's containable
By TOM MEEK  |  November 10, 2010
3.0 3.0 Stars

 

Runaway projectiles have always made for intriguing character studies — think Speed or Runaway Train. Unstoppable is that kind of movie, and it's based on true events to boot: how a choo-choo — owing to a combination of incompetence and bad luck — becomes an unmanned missile (a half-mile of fuel and flammable toxins) rampaging at 70 mph through the depressed burbs of Podunk, Pennsylvania. Early rescue attempts fail, so Johnny-on-the-spot engineers Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington) and Will Colson (Chris Pines, a/k/a the new Captain Kirk) jump into the mix but must battle their yin-yang differences as well as the steel beast. The film saddles the impromptu duo with carloads of backstory, but the actors are on their game — and that includes Rosario Dawson, who adds a deft touch as the track manager fighting corporate inanity. As for director Tony Scott, who's always been all over with his camera and cut-happy edits, he here finds a rhythm that delivers suspense from nose to caboose.

Related: Review: The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009), Review: Star Trek, Review: Food, Inc., More more >
  Topics: Reviews , Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Tony Scott,  More more >
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