Unstoppable (2010)

Director: Tony Scott
Starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson
Certificate: 12
Genre: Thriller
Awards: None

A train in West Virginia has gone off without a driver and it's heading with speed into a populated city with toxic chemicals that could wipe it out completely. Two railway employees, experienced train driver Frank (Washington) and a first time conductor Will (Pine), have to try and stop it before it reaches there.

Like Speed, this film gives a thrilling sense of time running out as the inevitable approaches. Scott ups the frantic feel with news reports on the situation as it's happening which gives it a much more realistic feel.

The film is focused on it's two main characters and how their relationship turns out. There is nothing wrong with that, but it does seem that all the other characters are quite two-dimensional. They could have been more rounded. For instance, we hear about Will's family and see his wife later on. But she is nothing more than just a prop. The same with Frank's daughters. It would have been interesting to explore more about the people waiting to find out whether or not the person they loved has survived.

Overall Unstoppable does exactly what it sets out to do. It thrills and excites the audience with a problem with a time limit.

****Good.