Matt’s Review: ‘Unstoppable’ is Entertaining – But Cliché Throughout

GRADE: B-

I could tell before seeing Unstoppable loving the film would be a stretch for me. Not that I don’t love Denzel Washington, or that I wasn’t impressed with Chris Pine from his debut in the smash hit Star Trek, but Unstoppable just didn’t really strike me as a must see. I am sure most of my feelings about the movie upfront reside with the fact the last effort from director Tony Scott was also an average movie about trains. The Taking of Pelham 123 is the film I am referring to, a project that also starred Denzel Washington trying to avoid disaster on the tracks.

The two films resemble each other so much at times it was a little sickening. A fine example is the train command centers from both films seem to almost mirror each other. Both feature big light up boards showing the trains, a central figure “running” the command center (Denzel in Pelham 123, Rosario Dawson in Unstoppable), and even the same little microphone communication devices. I wouldn’t doubt some of the props from The Taking of Pelham 123 were used in Unstoppable. Why Tony Scott decided this would be his next project after Pelham 123 kind of baffles me. Not only are the movies the same stylistically, but both seriously lack any sort of heart to make the audience seriously care about the story.

Unstoppable has a simple enough story which is actually based on true events. An unmanned train is accidentally thrown into high gear when it is being moved to a new docking location. The train speeds up before anyone can apply a brake and the initial attempts to slow the speeding bullet fail leaving Denzel to foster a rouge heroic plan to slow the train down. The whole nation is captivated by the impending destruction that could ravage the Pennsylvania countryside. Chris Pine and Denzel work to catch up the train from behind and pull it to a stop.

The production itself for Unstoppable was decent. The sound effects were especially thunderous as the train rockets by time after time. Imagine the delight of the sound designer when he was told to turn the train sound effects up to 11. The soundtrack was pretty much a joke. It stood out as really bland and I felt the score did not work with the pictures.

The visuals were well done for the most part, but Tony Scott seems to think every single camera shot needs to have the camera panning across the scene circling the action or a helicopter shot giving the audience an overhead view. Scott is under the impression that every moment needs extra drama by adding his overused camera movement. He has a very distinct style which works for this type of action film, but every time a character says something dramatic, it is not necessary for a tracking shot.

Overall, Unstoppable was entertaining, had some drama, had some good story telling, and had a little bit a character development; but honestly, the film lacked heart and reeked of cliché. Unstoppable was like a lemon car sold by Harry Wormwood in Matilda. It looks like a really good product on the outside, but upon closer inspection it doesn’t really run all that well. I didn’t love the movie and I didn’t hate it. I personally never need to see Unstoppable again placing this film in the mediocre range. I walked out thinking, Meh.

What Should You Do? Funny enough, this film gets the same grade as The Taking of Pelham 123. If you liked that film, then Unstoppable should be up your alley.