Unstoppable was a film I opted to rent from my favorite Red Box at the grocery store, just because of Denzel Washington. I respect the man and appreciate his talent, even if the projects he partakes (especially recently) are not really cutting at the box office. To be honest with you, I want to see Inside Man 2 materialize already.
Anyway, Unstoppable is about an unmanned and out of control train running through a series of small towns across the state, carrying of course hazardous material. Although a handful of experts try to stop the train one way or another, two men, a seasoned engineer and a “newbee” conductor take every risk possible to stop the train.
The first comment I want to make is that the film was actually entertaining even though it was pretty boring. Let me explain what I mean. Entertaining, because of the unrealistic action and stunt work involved in churning out the film. The boring is because, had the careless sidekick conductor ran a little faster in the first place when he noticed the train kick into auto mode, the movie would have been a wrap in the first 30seconds. Then we could have given thumbs up for an effective short film. But that wasn’t the case and we were left with 90minutes of watching the impossibilities of stopping a train in auto mode, running uncontrollably through the state of Pennsylvania.
The second, outside of Rosario Dawson, the rest of the actors failed to express true urgency while dealing with the situation, hence making it very difficult for me to feel the sense of danger. In this particular role, Denzel Washington seemed almost too laid back, making it seem like he was too tired to deal with the role, or perhaps he was trying to portray a tired and disgruntled employee. It was very difficult to tell the difference. Chris Pine was also not at his best and the rest didn’t really matter.
Anyway, rent it if you will and if you pass it up, believe me you won’t miss a thing.
B-lot buzz 