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"Tony Scott Delivers A Total Popcorn Thrill Ride!"
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Rating:
I had high hopes as far as Denzel Washington is concerned. However, this is not that movie.
+3
Unstoppable is action packed, high speed and I may have even enjoyed it thoroughly. BUT, and that's a big But, it lacks that special touch, the wow factor and to be fair to everyone (me inclusive) concerned, it's anti-climax! Still, not forgetting that this is a movie inspired by a true event, dramatic portrayal of a pending disaster is not in the works. It could have therefore, been a much better movie had it not been based on a true event, imho.
Nonetheless, I did enjoy the movie... there was continuous speed, excitement and loud music to make it a make-believe action drama. What it lacks though is the human "X" factor as Denzel Washington's last action movie, The Taking of Pelham 123. Unstoppable also lacks the surprise element, everything seems predictable and when it comes to the end, I was left with the feeling, is that it? It's extremely anti-climax! There simply wasn't much excitement after the unmanned train avoided collision with another train carrying a bunch of school children on field trip!Nah, this is not a very memorable movie. It's good entertainment but that's all there is to it. As far as rail transport is concerned, I was left with the feeling that America certainly needs to do something about those old rundown trains and a defunct rail system! And to think those corporate raiders are willing to sacrifice life and expose human lives just because if not they will suffer a 30-40% drop in the company's stock price?! That's just how low corporations have become?
No, definitely nothing to applaud in this movie, other than its entertainment value.
I know, ouch!
(A Lunch Featured Review)
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Trekscribbler
April 22, 2011
Oh, hogwash! This was great fun! It's like a roller coaster ride, so, sure, it's little more than a popcorn movie, but, on that level, it works very well. As I've said in other threads, I think Denzel has a great record at involving himself with 'reliably entertaining' films. There's a solid balance of tension between the players, who are all given modest backstory that in some way figures into the action. Sorry if you thought a town should've been destroyed or something, but it was based on true events, though I understand that was pretty loosely done.
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Scotman
February 08, 2011
Good review. I have not seen this but I doubt the American rail system is that bad -- I've ridden Amtrak and been quite happy with them. It's just a movie. And if it's entertaining that's all we can ask for. Thanks.
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Adrianna
November 19, 2010
Aw, too bad this didn't live up to expectations. At least it was relatively entertaining. Nice review, Sharrie!
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devora
November 19, 2010
Yeah, ouch! Great review though :P This is slightly disappointing to hear because I dig the cast!
Sharrie
November 19, 2010
Skip this one and head for Hogworts instead! I'm going over there now ;-) By all means go for it if it's just to see the cast :-)
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Butterfly1961
November 18, 2010
I really want to see this one; Washington usually never disappoints me and it sounds thrilling.
Sharrie
November 19, 2010
Not disappointing but I feel the movie only got to the warm up stage! It's like having hot soup but no main course :-)
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woopak_the_thrill
November 18, 2010
I like this movie quite a bit as in popcorn fun. Just avoid "Skyline" whatever you do...
Sharrie
November 18, 2010
Ok. Oh, I enjoy it, just didn't think much of it! Heading for Hogwarts soon!!!
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More Unstoppable (2010 movie) reviews
Tony Scott and Denzel Washington together have given us some hits and misses throughout their careers. Well, didn’t the two create another train movie called “Pelham 1 2 3” very recently? I guess that means the two are in familiar ground. Tony Scott’s train movie “Unstoppable” has been inspired by true events that occurred in 2001 called the “Crazy Eights” unmanned train incident that happened in Finlay, Ohio. Yes, the film is pretty simple and quite … more
Comments (28)
Compliments (137)
Tony Scott has watched too much MTV in his life. There's a massively over-used camera shot which I'm sure he created but you see it everywhere now - the video is sped up, slow-motioned, given a contrast flash, and then sped up again. It was innovative for the first 100 times but has become his editing trick of choice for everything from the "establishing scene shot" to "we need another 3 seconds of film here and we already paid the music guys". … more
Comments (12)
Compliments (81)
review by rmurray847.
November 13, 2010
Normally, I can barely tolerate Tony Scott's frantic, even frenzied, directing style. He's all about fast cuts, swooping angles and cursory character development. He's often a bit like Michael Bay, with at least with a better visual sense. His films often indicate changes in time or mood through a change in color saturation. You CANNOT see one of his films and not constantly be reminded that you're watching a movie. Films like MAN ON FIRE and TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3 give me a headache. UNSTOPP … more
Comments (3)
Compliments (48)
This film was so simple yet it was entertaining and tense and best of all it seemed to stress family, loyalty, honor, all without bad language and violence that seem to accompany most thrillers these days. A train engineer accidently leaves a train in gear with nobody in the cab. That train gets away from him and accidently engages itself in a fast gear. When Rosario Dawson (the train company's traffic coordinator) gets called, she realizes that she has a problem on her hands … more
Comments (1)
Compliments (12)
*** out of **** It looks like Tony Scott is getting creative. Here, the brother of the even-more-well-known Ridley Scott has made a film that is all fun, all craft, and lastly, all thrills. Out of all the thrillers to be released in 2010 ("Piranha 3D", "Salt", to name a few), "Unstoppable" is one of the best. It's a no-hold thrill-ride that knows where it's going, and has a handle on what it's doing. It's a film directed by Tony Scott, for crying out loud. That is, perhaps, … more
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Compliments (24)
There aren't a great deal of thrillers out there that I can say keep me on the edge of my seat or that make me wonder just how things will turn out. So for Tony Scott's Unstoppable to do so was quite a surprise to me. As I watched I actually found myself genuinely drawn into the situation at hand. Unstoppable isn't brainy but it isn't exactly stupid either. It's a well made film in spite of some of its smaller flaws. Unstoppable … more
Comments (2)
Compliments (69)
I finally got to see this one a couple weeks ago; I really liked the action in it, though I thought the characters were rather boring; even Denzel Washington. I sat on the edge of my seat throughout much of it, yet when it was over this flick was completely "forgettable".
Comments (2)
Compliments (6)
The problem with this is that if you've seen Scott's movies before you definitely seen this already.
Unstoppable is about a veteran engineer (Frank/Denzel Washington) and a young conductor (Will/Chris Pine) who race against time to prevent a railroad catastrophe. They have to stop a moving train at full speed that carries a cargo full of chemical products, so they engage in a pursuit to catch the train from the back and accelerate in the opposite direction in order for the train to slow down. This is a story based on real facts so we already know the process and the result … more
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Compliments (21)
review by zstoner66.
November 15, 2010
Tis the season for Oscar bait, and with that comes added depth to the movies coming out this season. Unstoppable doesn't contain a single extra layer. You know exactly what you're getting. A train you can't stop dangerous chemicals on the tracks, headed towards a small blue collar town, with a train full of children coming in the opposite direction. We're one horse and a sweet mustache away from a Dudley-do-right cartoon. Cue the woman tied to the tracks. … more
Comments (2)
Compliments (23)
Tony Scott's "Unstoppable" is a nail biting, heart pounding, relentlessly exciting film. It takes most of the reliable hallmarks of the action picture - death defying stunts, crashes, explosions - and strips them to the bare essentials. There's no posturing, no big muscles and machine guns, no pompous dialogue, no padding of any kind. There's only a raw, primal adrenaline rush. The result is a film so taut and gripping that you're liable to lose the feeling in your hands … more
Comments (1)
Compliments (12)
About the reviewer
Sharrie (Sharrie)
Ranked #14
Ranked #14
I'm a traveler at heart & have been nicknamed Travel Queen by friends & colleagues alike. Traveling has been my life passion for the last decade or so. As we enter a new decade, I'm excited … more
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About this movie
Unstoppable is a 2010 American action thriller film directed by Tony Scott, written by Mark Bomback and starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine. The film tells the story of a runaway train, and the two men (Washington and Pine) who attempt to stop it. The film was released in the United States and Canada on November 12, 2010.
Plot
After panning across some idling diesel locomotives under the opening credits, the film begins with scenes at two rail yards in different regions of Pennsylvania run by the Allegheny and West Virginia Railroad (AWVR). In the Fuller yard in northern Pennsylvania, children arrive for a school field trip on rail safety. Meanwhile, in the southern Pennsylvania town of Stanton, Will Colson (Chris Pine) gets up for work, stopping to surreptitiously watch his wife put their son on the school bus. He calls her but she refuses to even answer.
Arriving at work, Colson, a conductor, gets his orders for the day and learns he will be working with engineer Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington), with whom he has never worked before. He goes to a group of older workers, with whom he has some barbed words over their age differences, and finds Barnes among them. While he goes to punch in, the other older workers complain about being displaced by Colson, who they say got his job through family connections in the union.
Meanwhile, in Fuller, the yardmaster yells at a pair of hostlers who have been standing idle near a train to get it moved so the schoolchildren's ...
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Plot
After panning across some idling diesel locomotives under the opening credits, the film begins with scenes at two rail yards in different regions of Pennsylvania run by the Allegheny and West Virginia Railroad (AWVR). In the Fuller yard in northern Pennsylvania, children arrive for a school field trip on rail safety. Meanwhile, in the southern Pennsylvania town of Stanton, Will Colson (Chris Pine) gets up for work, stopping to surreptitiously watch his wife put their son on the school bus. He calls her but she refuses to even answer.
Arriving at work, Colson, a conductor, gets his orders for the day and learns he will be working with engineer Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington), with whom he has never worked before. He goes to a group of older workers, with whom he has some barbed words over their age differences, and finds Barnes among them. While he goes to punch in, the other older workers complain about being displaced by Colson, who they say got his job through family connections in the union.
Meanwhile, in Fuller, the yardmaster yells at a pair of hostlers who have been standing idle near a train to get it moved so the schoolchildren's ...
Director:
Tony Scott
Genre:
Thriller
Release Date:
Nov. 12, 2010
MPAA Rating:
PG-13
Runtime:
98 minutes
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