Imparable

In Pennsylvania, one engineer is maneuvering a train in the yard and accidentally leaves the train operating without the pneumatic brakes engaged. The operation department initially believes it is a coaster but soon the operators realize that the unmanned train is running on full power. Further, it is carrying dangerous chemicals and diesel in the cargo wagons. There are many unsuccessful attempts to stop the runaway train and the veteran engineer Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington) and the young conductor Will Colson (Chris Pine) decide to take the chance to reduce the speed of the train with the most unlikely operation.

The farewell of the brilliant director Tony Scott is a thriller with non- stop action inspired in a true event in Ohio. The screenplay is engaging and the dramatization is adequate to the story. The great cast with Denzel Washington, Chris Pine and Rosario Dawson completes this excellent entertainment. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Incontrolável" ("Uncontrollable")

Released in 2010, "Unstoppable" is about a runaway train in Pennsylvania carrying toxic chemicals and the engineer and conductor who try to stop it (Denzel Washington & Chris Pine). Rosario Dawson plays the yardmaster that assists from headquarters while Jessy Schram plays the separated wife of the newbie conductor.

The movie's based on the real-life CSX 8888 Incident, otherwise known as the Crazy Eights Incident, which involved a runaway freight train in northwestern Ohio in 2001. Locomotive #8888 was pulling 47 cars, including some with hazardous chemicals, and ran unmanned for two hours and 66 miles at speeds of up to 51 mph. (***Don't read the rest of this paragraph if you don't want to know how the real-life incident ended before seeing the movie***). Attempts to derail the train using a portable derailer failed, as did an attempt by police to shoot at an emergency fuel cutoff switch, which didn't work because the button has to be pressed for several seconds before the engine shuts down due to lack of fuel. A northbound freight train took succor in a siding area where the crew released its locomotive and waited for the runaway to pass. Like in the movie, they had a crew of two: Jess Knowlton, an engineer with 31 years of service; and Terry L. Forson, a relative neophyte conductor. They proceeded to chase the runaway train and successfully locked on to the rear car of the runaway, then slowing it by applying the dynamic brakes or their locomotive. Once the runaway had slowed to 11 miles per hour, trainmaster Jon Hosfeld ran alongside the train, jumped on, and shut down the engine.

While the movie starts somewhat bland it quickly picks up momentum for a realistic non-stop thrill ride. The realism is refreshing in this day and age of cartoony action blockbusters and their multiple "yeah, right" action scenes (not that there's anything wrong with those movies, as long as you're in the right mode). Washington and Pine make for good protagonists and you start to care about them as the story progresses. Moreover, the movie doesn't overstay its welcome at a mere 98 minutes.

The film was shot in numerous locations extending from central Pennsylvania to eastern Ohio, which serve up a nice rolling hills backdrop with the occasional river. Minor note: You'll observe a woodchuck scamper across the tracks in one scene where he/she thankfully DOESN'T become ground chuck.

BOTTOM LINE: "Unstoppable" is worthwhile as a believable disaster thriller. While it lacks the potent subtext and overall greatness of 1985's "Runaway Train," it makes up for it with its realistic and kinetic tone, not to mention the fact that it's based on a true incident.

GRADE: B

Simple, Thrilling, and Very Entertaining. Unstoppable never tries to be anything more than it is. It follows a runaway train that occurred in Pennsylvania and the two men that try to stop it. First off, I gotta five Tony Scott credit for making a film about trains, that in itself is pretty interesting. How many people know about and use trains regularly? Then take that and turn into one of the most suspenseful, entertaining films of the year culminates into a really good time. The film's opening credits starts with how the train was lost and runs away, so right off the bat you know that it's not going to be a dull film. Before any of the main characters are brought into the story the antagonist and therefore the action get underway. Your then introduced to Will, played by Chris Pine, and Frank, played by Denzel Washington. Will is the rookie conductor that is placed under the veterans Frank's wing. Then you have Connie, played by Rosario Dawson, as the head of all the trains currently running, basically a conductor that oversees all operations, who is in charge of finding a solution to the runaway train, while also dealing with the corporate suits, mainly Oscar Galvin, played by Kevin Dunn, who are more interested in stock prices and money losses then the overall safety and physical damage the train could cause. So, after some failed attempts to stop the train, Denzel comes up with a plan to stop it, and this is where Will and Frank become involved with the runaway.

Tony Scott does a pretty good job of making the runaway train look menacing, almost like a monster that no matter what you do always keeps coming for you. The majority of special effects and stunt work were done realistically with very little CGI being used, which for me is always a plus. With it being based on a true story he definitely uses a lot of tactics to make it feel less like a film and more like your actually watching the action happen presently. There's a lot of bird eye shots of the trains making it feel like a news helicopters are shooting it, while also cutting to news broadcasts following the runaway train through the majority of the film creating a more realistic view of the whole story. He also filmed on location in Pennsylvania, which was pretty cool living in central PA and having the opportunity to talk with some of the crew.

As for the characters, the first half of the film, is where the majority of the very little character development comes into play. Will and Frank bicker back and forth at each other, when unsurprisingly they find a common bond through broken families with their wives and children. There are also many conversations, which mostly turn into arguments, between Connie and Oscar about how to stop the runaway train and the potential problems it could cause. Yet, due to the pacing and strategic place of key conversations you end up caring about the characters and are pulling for them to get out of this disaster alive. The most important and character revealing dialogue occurs during the more explosion filled scenes with the train.

Overall, it's a pretty fun time, and never has a boring moment. Just when you think the dialogue may be getting a bit to breathy and boring, Scott crashes the runaway into some object causing a major explosion. It's one of those no brain activity films that you can just sit back and enjoy. The characters are there and Scott makes sure not to fill the runtime up with too much dialogue, but with just enough to develop Frank, Will, and Connie into people we want to see succeed. Lastly, it doesn't try to be anything more than it is. It's a film about a runaway train and the people trying to stop it, that's it. Unstoppable is a thrilling ride and a guaranteed enjoyable viewing.

Mark Bomback's writing was outstanding in using his 98 min runtime to squeeze in the perfect amount of character development, tension, suspense, and action. All casting and performances were excellent and Denzel and Chris Pine's chemistry was spot on. The S/VFX were amazing, as was the score. My big issue was the annoying and seizure-inducing fast zoom-in/outs director Tony Scott chose to use. Thankfully they became less frequent as the film progressed. It' an 8/10 from me.

This is an excellent movie in almost all respects. The cast does a very good job. The two leads play off of each other very well together and project good chemistry. The supporting cast is good as well and the movie even does a good job with providing some character depth (to the extent you can in this type of movie)- you do wind up rooting for them. The director has taken a good story, and matched it with excellent, I mean excellent, cinematography and takes us an every faster roller coaster ride. The movie is well paced, it keeps you engaged from the start & doesn't let you go until its over, and was just a lot of fun to watch. I highly recommend it.