Now, 9 years later, that story has been dramatized and is being released on November 12th as "Unstoppable", a thriller/drama directed by Tony Scott and starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine.
Is it worth your precious money to see the newest action flick from previous collaborators Washington and Scott? Read on to find out!
The film opens with Will Colson (Pine) going to his first day of work as an conductor on Pennsylvania's rail system, where he is partnered with Frank Barnes (Washington) a veteran engineer who's been working on the railroad for 28 years. And so the age old set up begins...the young, slightly cocky rookie is set up with the wise, lesson-dealing veteran.
Meanwhile, two rail yard employees are tasked with switching a train from the main track to another in order to make way for a train full of schoolchildren on a field trip learning about train safety. Unfortunately, they're a bit bumbling and the train is not only not switched over, but also takes off unmanned after one of the employees jumps out and tries to hit the track switch by hand. It would be OK if hadn't put the train at full speed without air brakes...but that's exactly what happens.
The speeding, unmanned train is going north to south, while the school trip as well as Will and Frank's train are heading south to north...right on a collision course with it. By the way, this unmanned train is carrying diesel fuel as well as a volatile, heavily combustible chemical-in essence, a bomb.
It's suggested by a rail yard commander (Rosario Dawson) that they simply derail the train when it passes through the middle of nowhere, but by the time it's time to make a decision, the train is headed straight for numerous towns, where a derailment would only spell disaster. The VP of the company still suggests derailing it in a town, evacuating the citizens prior to the event.
But Frank and Will refuse to let that happen, and Frank has the idea to pass the train on a sidetrack, reverse, attach their train to it, and gun it in the opposite direction in order to slow it down and get it under control. The VP refuses to let them do that, but Frank assures Will it will work and it's the best course of action.
We're gonna stop the s**t out of that train.
As you can probably already tell, the story is heavily dramatized with added details for thrills and drama. But does it work? Not entirely. For one thing, Scott's style seems to clash with the story, which screams "everyday hometown hero", while the visual style (Scott's usual of color-correction, shaky camera, zooms, and an overall gritty feel) makes it want to be more than that, and sometimes results in the film coming off cheesy. Maybe it's that Scott is not made to adapt "based on real events" stories, as his visual eye calls for bigger and bolder.
Another factor is the whole idea of a movie about trains. It seems to me at least that trains have lost their novelty in the US, as no one really travels by it anymore and many parts of the country don't really see active freight trains rolling through that often. The film has actually been in development since 2004 and went through all kind of development hell. Still, despite the years it took to get the film made, the story was not even known until the film's trailer brought it up.
There are a few things, though, that help keep the movie afloat. One is the great-as-always Washington, who is one of the better actors working today and great guy to cheer for. He and Chris Pine have good buddy chemistry on-screen, despite the poorly developed relationship between them.
Bottom line: "Unstoppable" strays far from the story that inspires it and is sometimes rather cheesy, but if you're a fan of Washington or are looking for a way to kill a few hours, check out a matinee.
Grade: C
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