Unstoppable

The plot is as fast as the runaway train, “Unstoppable” proves to be a movie that audiences won’t want to stop watching, just as the title suggests.

Will Colson (Chris Pine) receives more than he bargained for on his first day of work at a Pennsylvania railroad company. First of all, the relationship with him and his partner, engineer Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington) doesn’t start out well. Then due to an unfortunate human error an unmanned train at 70 miles an hour carrying combustible fuel and toxic chemicals is heading right toward them.

Barely escaping disaster, Frank decides to go after the train which is heading straight toward the highly populated city of Stanton. Will, reluctant at first, accompanies Frank to stop the seemingly unstoppable.

As soon as the initial credits start rolling, so does the plot in “Unstoppable”. It draws audiences in almost immediately and continues as the movie progresses.

The script (Mark Bomback) as a whole is suspenseful. Audiences are constantly sitting on the edge of their seats as plan after plan is executed to stop the train. The suspense in the movie is also laid out well; not ending too fast and not drawing the ending out too slow either.

The length of the scenes also fit the pace of the movie due to great editing (Robert Duffy and Chris Lebenzon). During more intense parts in the movie, the scenes, cut and shift fast. The transitions occur smoothly instead of giving the movie a choppy feel. There are also times where news reports are used to help show and tell the story, which provides audiences with a point of view other than the main characters.

The acting by Washington and Pine is adequate. A movie like “Unstoppable” doesn’t necessarily need incomparable acting because the plot drives the movie, not acting. However, the acting displayed in the movie, was good enough that audiences felt convinced of the actors fear and concern. In some movies like this, actors become real “shouty” trying to show their fear; however, actors in “Unstoppable” failed to do so. They displayed their emotion through their expressions and tone of voice which made “Unstoppable” seem a touch more real and less obnoxious.

There were also some funny and friendly interactions between Frank and Will that lightened up the tone of the movie. It also made it seem like they were two guys working together, rather than two actors shooting a movie.

“Unstoppable” also provided audiences with well-shot cinematography (Ben Seresin). The camera is constantly swooping over the runaway train, showing viewers the next target of the attack. It also gives a side perspective; audiences see flashes of the train through trees and houses, which demonstrates just how fast the train is moving.

The sound effects (Thomas Giordano, Shawn Holden and William B. Kaplan) are incredible. It’s loud, of course, due to noise of the trains but it sounds so real. The sounds makes it feel like audiences have left their seats and are standing next to tracks as the train whizzes past. At times, even the seats vibrate a little, which makes “Unstoppable” a great movie to see in theaters to get the full effect of the powerful sound.

“Unstoppable” contains a thrilling, fast-paced plot that will keep movie-goers attentions, especially added with thundering sounds of trains and explosions. “Unstoppable” proves to be a well-made —though not absolutely perfect— movie that will certainly entertain audiences.