UnstoppableDirected by: Tony Scott
Cast: Denzel Washington as Frank
Chris Pine as Will
Rosario Dawson as Connie
Kevin Dunn as Gavin
Rated: PG-13
*The following may contain spoilers*
Overview
Who rides trains anymore? Outside of New York, I think the number is slim. So then, why would it be necessary to teach a group of 6 year old's the basics of train safety? Oh, right. It wouldn't. But, it does create pointless drama that this movie can show in the commercials to make it seem interesting. And that's pretty much how they fill two and a half hours.
Unstoppable tells the story of two train operators, one rookie, named Will (Pine) and one veteran, Frank (Washington), who are teamed up for the day to pick up some random cargo train and haul it across town. As one might expect, the rookie doesn't really want to be here and the veteran doesn't like his laziness. Before the movie really gets going, both men have yelled at each other and have resigned themselves to silent glowering. It really is very touching (sarcasm).
Meanwhile, two lazy bums at the train yard desperately want to get lunch. Controlled by their hunger, they decide to "quickly" move a train. This plan results in one of them getting in the engine of half-mile long train, start it moving and then hops out of the moving train to go shift the track...LEAVING THE TRAIN MOVING. The train then randomly starts moving faster and the employee can't catch up mainly because he looks like this:
Emergency option: He can eat the train
So, he ends up face down in the dirt a the train speeds past him, heading towards three heavily populated areas with no apparent hills to stop it. Oh, and Fatso forgot to set the emergency brake so, that option is out too. The next two hours are filled with all kinds of stupid dramatic situations, only two minor explosions and the big, evil shipping company's ideas to stop it.
Denzel and Chris only decide to jump in to help after the 1 and a 1/2 hour mark.
That is seriously the ENTIRE plot. Yeah. It was bad.
Denzel and Chris only decide to jump in to help after the 1 and a 1/2 hour mark.
That is seriously the ENTIRE plot. Yeah. It was bad.
Positive Attributes
Frank and Will both care for their families very much and bond through the drama.
....that's it.
Negative Attributes
The plot. It was terrible. Not only was it just REALLY lame, it had several holes. For example, I know that Fatso (also known as Dewey) is an idiot and made to look like one, but seriously, dude. Why would you hop out of a moving train? The whole reasoning for why the train was careening down the tracks was stupid. Also, Denzel Washington saves the day by running on top on the train cars and leaping the gaps. If that's possible at 75 miles an hour, why couldn't Fatty or his partner grab onto a car further back and make their way to the front. Instead, they just stand there looking at it.
With this exact expression.
And, like I said in the Overview, the train full of kids serves no real purpose. That's not even why they were trying to stop the thing.
The language in Unstoppable was terrible. Throughout the movie, the f-word was said once, a** and a-hole were said a total of 6 times, BS was uttered 3 times, Jesus' name was abused 5 times, b**** was said 3 times and, to top it all off, GD was said 10 times and s*** was said 11 times. Will's foot gets pinched in-between two car connectors and is shown covered in blood.
The move itself was just not filmed well, either. Shot both from a third person view and like live newscast, the transitions were shaky and confusing at times. All the shots depicting the action, such as Denzel running on top of the train are jumpy and out of focus, leaving you dizzy and confused.
The language in Unstoppable was terrible. Throughout the movie, the f-word was said once, a** and a-hole were said a total of 6 times, BS was uttered 3 times, Jesus' name was abused 5 times, b**** was said 3 times and, to top it all off, GD was said 10 times and s*** was said 11 times. Will's foot gets pinched in-between two car connectors and is shown covered in blood.
The move itself was just not filmed well, either. Shot both from a third person view and like live newscast, the transitions were shaky and confusing at times. All the shots depicting the action, such as Denzel running on top of the train are jumpy and out of focus, leaving you dizzy and confused.
Every action sequence kind of looks like this.
Other notes: A man crashes through a window, a train derails and explodes with a man inside, and a police car flips and smashes. Will speaks of pulling a gun on a cop and Frank's daughters work at and are shown in Hooters.
Other notes: A man crashes through a window, a train derails and explodes with a man inside, and a police car flips and smashes. Will speaks of pulling a gun on a cop and Frank's daughters work at and are shown in Hooters.
Summary
Unstoppable is proof that commercials make things better. I honestly enjoyed watching the commercial more than the actual movie. While Denzel Washington was convincing in his role, Chris Pine seemed to overact and came off as an annoying, angry know-it-all. On top of that, the supporting actors just seemed weak, not very committed to their roles and the end result was a boring, slow to start but quick to finish wannabe action/suspenseful movie.
Personal Rating: 3 of 10
Plot: 2.5
Drugs/Alcohol: 1
Unstoppable is proof that commercials make things better. I honestly enjoyed watching the commercial more than the actual movie. While Denzel Washington was convincing in his role, Chris Pine seemed to overact and came off as an annoying, angry know-it-all. On top of that, the supporting actors just seemed weak, not very committed to their roles and the end result was a boring, slow to start but quick to finish wannabe action/suspenseful movie.
Personal Rating: 3 of 10
Plot: 2.5
Drugs/Alcohol: 1
A) Surprisingly enough, rail systems such as subways are still used frequently enough for safety to be taught about them to younger children. Train safety rules will generally still apply if you're using a subway. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metro_systems
ReplyDeleteB) The reason the dumb guy (who is also Luey Lastic from Remember the Titans if I recall correctly) is shown leaving the train while it's moving and not hooking up the air brakes, is because no matter where you are, there is always someone on the job who's half a**ing things and can really screw things up. Someone has to be at the start of pretty much every disaster there is, and it's normally guys cutting corners. I've seen it at every job that I've been at, and even in things like U.S. Artillery (according to my uncle) there are people who cut corners with the loading and firing of *live rounds*. So it's not that far of a stretch for the guy to be screwing up as bad as he did.
C) Although it would have been cooler for Denzel and Chris to come in before the 1 1/2 mark, they had a completely different job, and so it would have been kinda odd had they come in earlier.
D) There's a difference between jumping from car to car while already on the train, and trying to catch the train that's moving when you are not on it. (I will admit, Denzel did move up the mile and half long train, pretty darn quick for an older guy when he has to deal with the winds while going at that speed)
I personally think they didn't do that terrible on the movie.