Tony Scott and Denzel Washington have worked together a lot in their careers. From the good (Man on Fire, Crimson Tide) to the mediocre (Deja Vu, The Taking of Pelham 123) they have never really struck out when paired together. Unstoppable is the next film in their career, and its the weakest of all of them. Its the story of a runaway train out of Pennsylvania and the heroic attempts of two train conductors to stop the runaway before it does significant damage. The film reads "inspired by true events" but once you read what those true events were its kind of like taking a film about a minor scuffle between two people and turning it into the script for Fight Club. In the film the train is going 70 mph, and there are multiple other attempts to stop it including the deaths of some of those attempting to stop the train. In real life the train never got above 40 mph and no one got hurt. However I understand the need for drama and in the right capacity it can be good when it is emphasized. But in this film it feels forced, from the relationship between the two men to the corporate greed factor, its all been done before. There is almost nothing original or thought provoking in the film. The only thing that really makes you want to keep watching is because Denzel Washington and Chris Pine act their tails off and make you care about the characters even if they were written as one-dimensional and unoriginal. The film is not terrible for a Saturday afternoon watch but is not worth it if you plan on seeing something moderately different from every other run of the mill thriller. I give the film 5 Ninja Stars out of 10.
-Maximus
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