Is it possible for Denzel Washington to be in a horrible movie? The man can act. Unstoppable is an excellent thriller. The plot in this film was amazing. The film - no matter how many times I watch it - every time during scenes involving saving attempts to stop the train grabs me in tightly and gets my heart pumping. From start to finish this film is a thrill ride. I enjoyed every minute of it.

I had no idea that working on the railroad could be this exciting. First and foremost, "Unstoppable" stars Denzel Washington. I don't think this guy has ever taken a misstep in a role. In this flick, he's long-time engineer Frank. He's a grizzled veteran of the railroad biz. He has two beautiful daughters but has lost his wife to cancer. On the job, he routinely has all of the answers. The guy just knows his stuff. It's impossible not to like Frank. Chris Pine's "Will" is just a younger version of Frank, he's just not nearly as track-wise. Then you've got Rosario Dawson as Connie in a working woman role that I've never seen her do before. She is also totally likable. The three of them are portrayed as flawless heroes. They are the good guy, "workin' men" of the movie. Kevin Dunn plays the bad guy corporate boss named Galvin who plots a couple of failed attempts to stop the runaway train. Galvin actually analyzes what the cost of derailing the train will be to his company and even discusses the effect it will have on stock prices with the CEO. When we see this conversation happening, Galvin is on the phone with the CEO, who just happens to be golfing during the crisis. Okay let's see if I understand...Corporate bosses are only worried about money and are not concerned with the safety of the employees or the people in the towns where the train loaded with toxic chemicals may crash. And, our everyday heroes, Frank, Will, and Connie are only worried about stopping the train and saving lives, their jobs be damned. Got it. But I wonder what happens if the train crashes costs hundreds of millions of dollars to cleanup and drops the company's stock prices to the point where the people that the company employs lose their jobs? You know...people like the heroes in this movie. Oh, who cares about the details! Corporate bosses are evil and everyone knows it. Hollywood constantly tells us so that must be the truth. Now that I've once again attempted to call out another instance of Hollywood's trashing of big business, it's time to point out that this movie is a lot of fun. It is very fast paced and there are carloads of suspense. It's entirely silly but the action is shot so well. The director pushes almost all of the right buttons and I thought that the quick cutting so prevalent in movies today wasn't distracting here. I almost always understood where the runaway train was in relation to Frank and Will's hot pursuit in their own choo-choo. I don't think their rescue is feasible and it probably will have those who know something about railroads scoffing. To the layman though, it seems like things aren't entirely far-fetched. One other thing, the "where are they now" segment at the end of this movie was totally unnecessary and really deflated the impact of the ending. It would have been just fine to leave the characters alone. We don't need to know what happened to them after this event in their lives occurred. And did I mention how cool Denzel Washington was?

Based on actual events, Tony Scott and Denzel Washington team up once again to bring this edge-of-your-seat action adventure to the big screen. Washington plays the role of an aging train engineer being forced out of his job by the company simply to cut payroll expenses. Chris Pine plays the young and upcoming conductor who is struggling to find himself. These two opposites are scheduled to work together the day that a runaway train occurs on their route. This train, traveling at 60+ MPH, contains 8 tanker cars carrying toxic chemicals and is endangering the town of Stanton, PA. This movie proves that not all superheroes wear capes. It is a solid 8 out of 10.

just rewatched this movie and remembered how much I enjoyed watching it. Its “speed” with a train.