5 March 2011

Movie Guide - Unstoppable (Blu-Ray)

Rating 3 1/2 (out of five)
 
Based on a true story, this is a taut and efficient little thriller about a runaway train and the efforts of a veteran engineer and a young conductor to stop it.
 
Will (Chris Pine) is a railway rookie assigned to ride with Frank (Denzel Washington), a train engineer who has seen and done it all in a long career. Will is distracted by personal problems and makes a few elementary mistakes that Frank has to correct.
 
Rolling down the main line in their locomotive, they receive an urgent message that human error has led to unmanned train loaded with toxic cargo leaving a rail yard, and it's headed right for them.
 
Will and Frank manage to make it to a spur to avoid the onrushing train, which is accelerating. They decide to pursue it and try to stop it before it crashes in a heavily populated area and possibly kills thousands of people.
 
Simple, but effective, Unstoppable builds fine tension and the action sequences are great.
 
The Blu-ray version includes a digital copy disc and five featurettes.
 
Andy Cooper.