Unstoppable

The grizzled veteran, the untested rookie, the feisty person in the trenches, the rich suits who make the calls but don't know anything, the pushy press corp, the brainiac with amazingly convenient knowledge and the big problem no one can solve. Almost every action movie has these parts, but only a few end up being greater than the sum of their parts. "Unstoppable" is such an action movie.

For me, as I watched this one a few weeks ago, I came to a realization. A lot of action movies try to bring in human elements, but spend so much time on the human stories that the pace of the action is lost or the stories are inane (one type of Michael Bay movie). Some action movies have no human element, so in the midst of all the chases and explosions, it can be difficult to care about the characters (the other type of Michael Bay movie). This movie gives us enough of a glimpse into the character's lives to care, but manages to juggle that within the context of the action of the movie.

The movie deals with a train that has accidentally been throttled and left unmanned. As it careens through Pennsylvania, the folks back at the station have to figure out a way to stop the train. They must stop the train before it reaches a particular town which has such a sharp turn on the track that there is no way the train will make the turn at full speed without derailing. Also, the train is carrying copious amounts of harmful chemicals, so any crash would result in mass destruction. On the other side of the state, Frank and Will (a classic duo played by Denzel Washington and Chris Pine) are heading straight for the runaway train, and for reasons I won't go into, they are unable to get out of the way.

Sometimes, bad material is made better by good actors. In this movie, good material is made great by good acting. Denzel Washington has been given all the appropriate accolades over the course of his career, but this movie has his wonderful skill and charisma on display yet again. Chris Pine is also quite good, and the two of them are able to take some cliched dialogue ("I've been driving trains for 28 years...what do you know?") and make it very believable. Rosario Dawson plays Connie at the control center, and her performance reminds me of Ed Harris in "Apollo 13". She knows when to take over, and when to delegate. And Chris Dunn plays the ultimate stuffed shirt. He is Connie's supervisor, and he makes all the wrong calls, while the less paid peons come up with all the right ideas. The viewer even gets the satisfying scenes of watching Connie, Will and Frank all tell off their supervisor, something about which most of us have dreamed at one time or another. All of this is overseen by Tony Scott, who brings it all together with great skill.

So here it is, proof that the big studios can make wonderful entertainment. Pop some corn, grab a friend and put this one in...and then get ready for a great ride.