Starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Kevin Dunn, Kevin Corrigan, Ethan Suplee, and T.J. Miller
Grade: B
It has some certifiably cheesy moments, but Unstoppable becomes a genuine thrill ride once the wheels start turning.
Summary
In Stanton, Southern Pennsylvania, troubled train conductor Will Colson (Pine) wakes up for work. From his parked truck, he sees his estranged wife Darcy (Jessy Schram) send their kids off to school, so he decides to call her. She sees his call but doesn’t answer.
At Brewster, Will asks a worker where he can meet his partner for the day in railroad engineer Frank Barnes (Washington). The worker wishes Will luck, which only foreshadows trouble. Will approaches and meets Frank when he’s sitting with his friends in the morning, introducing himself as his partner on train 1206 for the day. Once Frank takes a look at the profile, his friends try to intimidate Will, but he gives it right back to them. Following Will’s exit, one guy mentions how Will is union, and they made him a shop steward in his first year at UTU. This surprises Frank, but it doesn’t for the other guy because Will’s uncles are running things over in Thornwood and his brother is a lead welder at Deacon. The whole family is from Stanton. In Brewster, they’re firing guys every day, but Will’s situation is being looked at as a “nepo” hire. At the Fuller Yard in Northern Pennsylvania, railroad operations dispatcher Bunny (Kevin Chapman) sees hostler Dewey (Suplee) and hostler and conductor Gilleece (Miller) lounging around and asks what the B train is still doing on D-16 because they need the track clear, but Gilleece calls in to say they were about to move it. Since there are 150 students coming in on that track, Bunny stresses that it needs to be done immediately, so Gilleece and Dewey oblige. In Wheeling, Northern Pennsylvania, grade school students get onto a train for a nonprofit field trip by the Railroad Safety Program to educate kids about railway safety. On the road, Will breaks down the day plans for Frank saying they have to go on light power, and they’re supposed to pick up 25 cars just past Stanton. From then on, it’s a straight shot through Wilkins. There are no slow orders.
Back at the Fuller Yard, Bunny asks what’s taking so long, and Dewey explains there’s a 39-car consist and it’s a half mile long. Dewey patches in to Gilleece, who sees Dewey forgot to tie in the air from the point, so he doesn’t have any air brakes at the moment. Dewey argues they can tie the hoses once they get it parked because he’s just tired of Bunny yelling at them. Reluctantly, Gilleece goes along with it.
Will and Frank show up to the Brewster Yard and walk towards their train. While walking, Frank tells him his one rule. If you’re going to do something, you do it right. If you don’t know how to do it, you ask him. If Will needs anything from him directly, he’s told to speak up. This seems simple enough. Frank makes it clear that this is Will’s train, he’s just the guy driving it. Following this, they discuss Will’s background. He’s only been out of school for four months, while Frank has been railroading for 28 years. Proudly, he says his starting date was November 13th, 1981. At the same time Dewey drives his train at the Fuller Yard, Frank kisses a picture of his family and puts it on the dashboard. Setting things up on the outside of the train, Will gets a call from his brother (Jeff Wincott). Apparently, his court hearing has been moved to this morning and he might be able to go home. They said it’s cool that he can’t come in since he’s at work, so Will just tells his brother to call back in an hour with an update. Shortly after, Will and Frank take off. Meanwhile, Dewey notices the trailing point switch and how the track is aligned for D-16. He’s only 20 cars away from a full stop. Gilleece suggests they just back up the train and lose a little time, but Dewey sets up the independent brakes and hops out of the train, jogging alongside it with the goal of manual switching the track. Unfortunately, the throttle falls back into drive by itself, and Dewey can’t get there in time, tripping as he tries to jump back on.
Well, we got ourselves a runaway train.
At the Milesburg Yard in South Pennsylvania, Frank realizes it’s his daughter Nicole’s (Elizabeth Mathis) birthday once he sees a sticky note in the train to remind him. He calls home, but his other daughter Maya (Meagan Tandy) answers and she jokingly talks about how he’s in trouble for forgetting Nicole’s birthday. He tries to come up with a lie for Maya to tell and asks to talk with Nicole, but Nicole refuses to answer the phone. Once Maya brings up how Nicole has a date, he again tells her to give the phone to Nicole. Once she gets it and Frank tries to talk, Nicole hangs up. After this, Will calls in to ask if there’s a problem since the stop blocks are up, but Frank explains that he set the whole thing up backwards. Following Will fixing his fuck-up, they continue on their ride, with Frank again reminding him to ask if he has any questions. Since it’s noticeably condescending, Will let’s him hear about it, as he doesn’t want to be in another “Let the rookie prove himself” type of situation. Of course, this leads to Frank talking about how their bosses are trying to push out all the old workers for rookies, with Will countering by making it clear this isn’t his intention. At Fuller Yard, yardmaster Connie (Dawson) shows up with donuts for the field trip kids, only to get the news of bumbling morons Dewey and Gilleece accidentally sending an unmanned train running into opposing traffic with no air brakes. Dewey does say that the independent brakes should stop it eventually, and Gilleece says it’s only going 10 mph. So, Connie gives them orders of jumping on the high rail and going after it. Getting into the office, Connie gives everyone else orders to contact the field trip and get them to the nearest siding.
They contact the dispatch on the train driving the kids and tell them to divert to a siding at Portville. Furthermore, Connie says they need to alert every northbound train on the main line, with the first 20 miles on the track taking priority. The train should stop after a few miles because of the independents, but it’s still a risk they can’t take.
Ned (Lew Temple) is sent to Outpost Five to throw the siding switch before the train gets there. He offers to climb on the train to stop it, but Connie declines as Dewey and Gilleece are going. At the Stanton Curve, Will and Frank discuss Will being born and raised in Stanton, his whole family being from there, him being (sort of) married, Frank being divorced, his daughters, and how Frank’s daughters are working as waitresses as Hooters to pay for college. The last detail gets a laugh out of Will, and Frank joins in, easing the tension between the two. As Connie fields a call from corporate and tries to speak to VP of AWVR train operations Oscar Galvin (Dunn) directly, Inspector Scott Werner (Corrigan) walks in her office and asks about the coaster potentially tripping a relay. Upon hanging up and rudely asking Scott who he is, Scott explains that he works for the Railroad Safety Campaign and how he’s a federal safety inspector who is supposed to give a presentation to the kids. Uncaring, Connie tells Bunny to deal with him and closes her door. The coaster is now speeding like crazy. Connie takes a look at the shipment details and cars 7-10 are labeled as hazardous material, so she wants Bunny to look into it. Ned makes the switch where he’s supposed to, but the train isn’t there. Dewey and Gilleece show up and don’t know where it is either, so Ned calls Connie to tell her the news. They both realize this train isn’t a coaster, it’s under power. Now, Connie is pissed off and has Ned give the phone to Dewey. She asks if when he put the brakes on independent if the throttle was in the forward position. The position the throttle was set was in notch eight – full power. Since there is no time to freak out, Connie gets right into action, demanding they take the southbound track and catch up. If it’s slow enough, she wants one of them to climb it. Additionally, she wants Ned to follow the main line from his truck.
At the Zinc Plant in Southern Pennsylvania, Will directs Frank in backing up the train and latching on to a bunch more. Right after, he gets another phone call from his brother. Apparently, Will got a hardass judge at the hearing and the restraining order will go on for another thirty days, keeping him away from his kid. There will be another hearing after that too. Frank spots him on his phone and tells him to get back to work, which he does. Speaking with authorities, a cop asks if there is a “dead man brake” for all trains, but it’s a little more complicated than that. According to Connie, there is a wand the engineer has to hit periodically where the air brakes are automatically applied. Unfortunately, the air brakes are disconnected, so they’re fucked. Because of this, she asks for them to post officers at all the main line crossings. Meanwhile, Dewey and Gilleece catch up to the train. Gilleece hangs out the passenger side to try and grab hold to get on the cab, but he’s almost killed by a post in the center before Dewey pulls him back in. Frank asks Will how many cars they were supposed to cut in. It was supposed to be 20 cars, but he sees 21. Wil realizes he cut in too many cars and Frank won’t let him live this one down. He wants to roll back to cut the empties, but Frank laughs this suggestion off because they can’t stop on the main line. They are more than a mile to the next stop too. You simply don’t take a consist this size that distance in reverse. Trying to shut him up, Will suggests they make a turn at the next siding, but the next one isn’t for 10 miles. It will make them late, and Frank refuses this. He tells him to “green-sheet” it and move on. Knowing he’ll get in trouble, Will doesn’t want to, with Frank mentioning his last name and how he can get away with stuff like this. This incites an argument and now, Will demands they roll back because it’s still his train. As Frank laughs, Regional Dispatch in Central Pennsylvania asks for their position. When Frank says they’re 40 minutes from Fuller Yard, they are told to go to the next siding until further instruction.
Frank inquires further, and they let him know about the unmanned train on Fuller on the northbound track. As a reminder though, they are still 10 miles from the next siding.
The news of the runaway AWVR777 train is now being widely publicized, with Dewey being blamed and rightfully so. From AWVR Headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Galvin calls Connie and gives her immediate shit because of the situation. Next, he asks what the cargo is. Apparently, cars 7-10 and 16-19 contain a chemical called molten phenol, though they’re not sure what it is exactly. Listening in on the phone call, Werner mentions it’s used in the manufacture of glue. Seeing how he can help, Connie puts their call on speakerphone, with Werner talking about how the chemical is very toxic and highly combustible, not to mention the 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel already on the train. With this, Galvin tells Connie to get the state police back on the line, to have a Hazmat team briefed and ready, and to put a helicopter over AWVR777. Though they don’t have a plan, a strategy call is going to be set up in two minutes, though Galvin says Connie will not be on it. As Galvin talks about the importance of all the railroad crossings they have to worry about, Werner mentions there are 173 railroad crossings specifically between there and AWVR substation and Brewster. Adding on, Connie explains how this “missile the size of the Chrysler Building” is headed towards some very populated areas. Beforehand, there’s about 12 miles of vacant farmland, so there’s a very limited window, but they could avoid the people. With this, she suggests they derail the train while they still can. Arguing how much money it will cost the company, and with the possibility of them still being able to stop the train at the moment, an angry Galvin hangs up on her. At Findlay in Northern Pennsylvania, a news crew pulls up to a railroad crossing and wants to be difficult, asking the cops what’s going while the officer tells the reporter to go back to her vehicle. Then, a truck driver that isn’t paying attention crashes into a trailer that was stopped.
Meanwhile, AWVR777 is speeding down the same track. They get the horses off the railway right before the train takes out everything in its path. Ned sees the whole thing. At the same time, Frank calls dispatch to say they aren’t going to make the siding in time because they have “too much train”. He requests for them to realign the switch, so they can proceed to the next siding. The dispatch stresses the situation, but Frank is adamant they won’t fit. He suggests the rip track, and they say to take it after explaining to him that the train is actually under power and not a coaster as previously thought. They say they need to throw the switch if they’re staying in, but Will interrupts to say they aren’t. When he says to pull the brake, Frank is confident they’ll crash and refuses. He even stops Will from doing it himself and tells dispatch to realign the switch. At headquarters, they discuss how this thing could possibly decimate an entire town if it were to derail. The projected costs could be over $100 million. They decide to go with Galvin’s option, with Galvin saying he already prepped a substation in Brewster. The train is going about 70 or so mph. At Keating Summit in Central Pennsylvania, they send 22-year-old AWVR employee and former Marine Ryan Scott into a helicopter with a team, as Ned pulls up and asks for police assistance. Dispatch confirms with Frank that he was right. They did the math, and the train wouldn’t fit had they followed the initial instruction. It turns out Galvin’s plan is to stick another train in front of AWVR777 in an attempt to slow it down. They stick Frank’s friend and co-worker Judd (David Warshofsky) in controls of the train that’s in front of it. Then, they hang Ryan Scott from a helicopter, and they get ready to drop him once the runaway train slows.
Judd does a good job at first, and they drop Scott. However, the motion combined with the train’s continued motion forces Scott to bump off and fly straight through the windshield of the runaway train, and he’s knocked out. Soon after, Judd derails trying to slow it and his train explodes, killing him. Frank patches in with Connie to update them on the rip track excursion, but he wants to know the location of their train. It turns out, the AWVR777 is headed straight for them in a gigantic game of chicken. Seeing this on the news, Galvin starts flipping out. Frank calls Nicole at work and tells her he loves her because death starts to seem like a real possibility. On Frank’s lead, he starts breaking as they switch onto the other track, and he narrowly avoids a head-on collision. At worst, he smashes through the last car of the runaway, but it’s relatively smooth, all things considered. For now, they are safe, but they hear from Frank’s co-worker that they are evacuating, and they plan on derailing the train. Knowing the catastrophe that can come with this, Frank sees a solution. If they get back on the main line now, they can chase it down in reverse because the only way to stop something that powerful is to grab by the tail and gun it in the opposite direction. He’s confident that the portable derailer they have planned will fail. He’s going to try and save the day with or without Will. Though he doesn’t want to be involved, Will knows this train can make it to Stanton. With this in mind, he forms this reluctant team with Frank as they try to stop the unstoppable.
My Thoughts:
Unstoppable is one of those movies that does exactly what it intended to do and does so at a high level. It doesn’t try to be anything it’s not. It doesn’t need to shoot for the moon or have a screenplay with metaphorical plot details or political messages hidden in plain sight or even overtly on the surface. It’s simply a thrilling action spectacle about a potential disaster that forces a team of different personalities and experts, with varying philosophies on how things should be done, who all coming together for one goal through teamwork, heart, determination, and care. Calling it unambitious isn’t a fair criticism because including all of these other outside factors within the story isn’t always entirely necessary, especially if you do everything else in your film correctly. Sometimes, you don’t need to go all-out with a deeper meaning. If the premise is about stopping a runaway train, the course of action is simple. Once you establish the characters, their relationships, the importance of their jobs, and the roles they play in the film, you’re off to the races. As these elements takes shape, it’s up to the actors and the filmmaker to make it a movie worth watching regardless of the emotional magnitude found within the screenplay. In Tony Scott’s last film before his unfortunate passing, he directs what could be a direct-to-video feature into an underrated, pulsating, invigorating thriller that is sure to not only give you goosebumps as you race to the finish line but warm your heart just as well.
There are a lot of praiseworthy components of Unstoppable like being able to maximize the simplicity of a runaway train to the absolute fullest. However, the generic elements of the screenplay are noticeable and can be groan-inducing at times, especially in the first half of the movie. The whole “rookie having to prove himself to the veteran” trope, along with the mutual respect that develops between the two because of the rookie getting moments of glory to show his intellect or courage, is a tale as old as time, especially in action movies. It’s the equivalent of the hardened, no-nonsense cop who doesn’t want a partner, but he gets one anyway and starts to like him. Sometimes, it’s an unavoidable trope. Admittedly, it does make for a good building block to a story though. With this being said, you can’t help but roll your eyes at the interactions Will and Frank have in the first act because it’s that cringeworthy. Even in-character, Will mentions how he doesn’t want this whole thing to be a “”Let the rookie prove himself” type of deal, and it almost comes off as a tongue-in-cheek dig at the movie because this is exactly what the movie is, at least for 60% of it. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could predict some of the lines Will and Frank say to one another. Because of this, the movie doesn’t make a great first impression, as many avid movie watchers will more than likely roll their eyes at the same cliché lines I did. Very rarely would I reference a later Saturday Night Live sketch and praise it for its accuracy, but the parody they produced of the trailer for Unstoppable nailed the absurdities of its writing so well, it actually ruined my overall view of the film forever. Truthfully, I would have had the same criticisms of the movie regardless of if I had seen this sketch, but they did such a great job pointing out the obviousness of it that I can’t help but laugh every time at some of the ridiculousness of the movie ever since viewing it.
Is that not 100% accurate? Not only is Jay Pharoah’s Denzel impression easily his best work, but the age-related insults, how Will and Frank focused on their differences at first, how they come to a respect for each other, and how the bad news keeps on piling on at the worst times possible to raise the stakes in an almost comical manner nails the formulaic film in one of SNL‘s best movie parodies ever. It has legitimately ruined the seriousness of the movie for whoever has watched it. If you want the full Unstoppable experience without any outside influences to change your mind, watch SNL‘s sketch after the movie, not before it. I still enjoyed watching Denzel Washington and Chris Pine navigate through the action as the film is a very satisfying watch, but even they would have to admit the accuracy of this sketch.
Because of stuff like this becoming obvious in the first part of the film, Unstoppable tiptoes the line of “unintentionally funny” territory at times like with Scott’s awkwardly timed, signature zoom-ins of characters as they talk to heighten the intensity of the dialogue or when Frank points out how Will cut in too many cars. He makes it known that in training, you just get an “F”, but out in the real world, it can get you killed. It’s one of those moments where you know these actors know fuck all about what they’re talking about, but Denzel is so convincing in his role of this veteran railroad worker of 28 years that his performance urges you to move passed the corny stuff and to start to become invested. This is just an early look at the beginning stages of some of the genius of Tony Scott’s most underrated film. Despite the obvious hackneyed bits attached to the beginning and hokey undertones throughout, as the audience works through the mismatched veteran/rookie pairing as best they can, things are handled well enough that the audience is completely locked in once our main characters find themselves on a collision course with this train of doom and subsequently when they get back on the railroad to try and slow it down. The praise of this rests solely on the shoulders of our stars. Per usual, Denzel Washington is fantastic as the well-intentioned, confident family man who balances his upbeat attitude and infectious smile with a determination and seriousness in the heat of the chase that makes you want to fight for him. Very few can play such a good guy protagonist in such a likeable and approachable manner, while still conveying a certain toughness that avoids what could be a bland characterization.
He is not asked to save the day and is actually told by their superiors to get the hell out of there, but Frank is adamant and earnest in that he can save the day with his experience, as his solution may be the only way to save all those people from disaster. He doesn’t even need to finish the line when he says, “Not for you. I’m not doing it for you”. It’s for the city. It’s for his daughters. If he loses his job or even dies trying to stop the train, he’s all-in to try and do everything in his power to stop this thing. Again, it sounds hokey, but Washington’s talent shines through, as he says such lines with enough conviction that you can’t help but run through a brick wall for the guy. You start to believe in him. Maybe he can do the impossible. Despite Will’s initial reservations, he’s becomes just as inspired as the viewer and is wholeheartedly onboard. When Galvin fires Will over the radio, he just jokingly responds that it’s too bad because he was just starting to like the job. Through these dire circumstances, they build this friendship and it’s effortless with Washington and Pine’s chemistry and combined charisma. It’s not just about the job. Lives are at stake. With this pressure, diamonds are made between them, along with Rosario Dawson’s Connie Hooper. Just like it always is, Denzel’s movie star aura is on full display here. You can’t help but hang onto every word he says, which is why he was such a perfect choice for this movie, as he elevated it immensely. Anytime he makes a suggestion, you’re completely on board with him. Anytime he’s proven right and starts to laugh, you can’t help but smile with him. He’s just got “it”, and I will continue to praise his abilities any chance I get in these reviews.
When Frank Barnes throws a couple of insulting comments towards Will, we understand enough from him that this is more out of frustration rather than Frank just being an asshole. He seems like a pleasant guy otherwise. It’s just that he feels slighted because of how Will is positioned, and he assumes a lot about Will before actually knowing him. To be fair, this is relatable in any developing workplace friendship, which is what makes the characters’ evolution as the story progresses as enjoyable as it is. Communication is key between them, and they don’t really know each other until life, work, and their personal experiences bring them together. Anyone can resonate with that. As the story moves briskly and we learn more about his personal life, Will and the viewer see where Frank is coming from and it eases the tension, despite the initial uneasiness between the two. The progression is done very well, considering the fact that this isn’t even what we came here for. It’s very well-crafted dialogue to explain both men without having them go about monologuing, and it’s just enough to attach us to both characters as they find themselves in a disastrous situation that brings out the best of their team. Even when we learn more about Will, who has a much darker backstory than expected regarding his jealous side that involved him threatening his cop friend who he thought was seeing his wife (but ended up being wrong), his recollection of the events still endears him. Though he comes from a well-off family that solidifies his position in the railroad industry without much experience, he’s not this uppity, cookie-cutter rookie. Will Colson works every day to prove himself and is dealing with a broken home because of a massive misunderstanding caused by his own temper. In doing so, it has potentially cost him his family. The last thing he needs is a work situation where a co-worker has resentment towards him and doesn’t try to hide it.
Going along with the simplicity of the dialogue but just two great actors making the most of it, following Will’s recalling of what happened in his life, Frank really stops and listens after some jokes here and there. After seeing Will come to the realization about how he may have screwed up his whole life with one big mistake, Frank responds with an authentic stare into his soul before calmly stating, “Never too late though”. It’s a small statement, but it’s powerful and speaks volumes because of the acting talent of both men shining through.
At a time when he was one of the most sought-after young stars in Hollywood, Chris Pine does a great job in proving himself to the industry here, as the regular old “rookie” role was transformed by Pine into a privately struggling father and husband who has a lot of potential but has to still deal with the stigma of his family name in the workplace. Together, the chemistry between Washington and Pine makes the movie what it is. Whether it’s their banter or their emotional connection in the heat of the moment, they do a lot with what’s given to them. Rounding out the triumvirate of talent is Rosario Dawson. The movie wouldn’t have been the same without her. Everyone knew Washington and Pine would have their half of the movie covered, but Dawson does a great job in stressing the urgency of the situation from behind the scenes as she fights through the red tape and ultimately oversteps her bosses to help our main characters more than anyone. She doesn’t meet with them in person until the end, but the chemistry and emotional connection they have in the heat of the action is enough to hook you. By the end, I guarantee there won’t be a single person watching this movie that won’t be smiling ear-to-ear when they finally do meet each other in the closing moments. Then, there’s the action. Though two guys going after a runaway train on their own train to attach it and slow it down seems simple enough, it’s so much more than that. With frenetic pacing and editing, and so many more details included to diversify the chase taking place, Tony Scott is able to make the absolute most out of the limited premise. You’ll find yourself holding your breath time and time again as Frank and Will try to pull off the unthinkable with very limited resources and very little help. Throwing it all in the face of character actor supreme in Kevin Dunn was just icing on the cake. Though in Galvin’s defense, he had a point when saying the damage would be much worse if our heroes fail, which is why he didn’t want to risk it.
In a real-life scenario, I get it. This is a movie though, so fuck ’em.
On a side note, I love how the whole thing is pinned on Ethan Suplee. His dumbfounded expression throughout most of this movie knowing he caused it all was hysterical. Ending things with the final caption involving his character might have been the best joke of the entire film. Also, I loved the pivotal and somewhat underrated expositional conversation between Werner and Frank, when Werner suggests his hunch of alternating the full throttle with the dynamic braking because they will compensate for the loss in counterthrust with tractor force. It’s well-acted in its seriousness and makes sense, but Frank’s dismissiveness of the suggestion when Werner says it’s a hunch was hilarious to me. Motherfucker, everything these guys did so far was based off your hunch! Hell, he was only 50/50 about the derailer failing too! Even if he was right, it was still another hunch.
Early on, you laugh off certain scenes because it teases you with stereotypical action movies tropes. However, once things get real like when Frank is running on top of the train or when Will climbs out of the train to connect the two as it’s racing down the track, while the entirety of Southern Pennsylvania watches on the news, you find yourself getting up from your chair, completely locked into the experience. Little conversations start to mean more, as the anxiety is getting to the viewer as much as it does the characters, with our own mortality becoming a question as we’re not sure of the fate of our stars. Little anecdotes like Frank’s emotional and heartwarming recollection of talking to his deceased wife about his every workday hits the viewer with a reality check on how much these strangers are starting to mean to them (“I’m sorry- me too, me too.”). In the aftermath of this rather wholesome action movie, the audience is as proud of this team as their families are within the movie. The shift between the two halves of the film is incredible. Truth be told, this could have been a much stupider movie had it been in the wrong hands. Thankfully, it wasn’t. With an excellent cast who are totally committed to this story of a ticking time bomb of a train that could lead to a catastrophe, Unstoppable overcomes formulaic characters and tropes to make an overall exciting and very fun action feature guaranteed to have you on the edge of your seat at some point. It utilizes its limited premise in a remarkable way to the point where you will find yourself smiling and pointing at Frank and Will just as they do in an awe-inspiring finale.
Southern Pennsylvania needs to make a statue of these two.
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