Unstoppable - Außer Kontrolle

This film is about the attempts to stop an unmanned train full of dangerous chemicals travelling at high speed, endangering the lives of thousands of people living along the tracks.

"Unstoppable" gets right to the point, action already starts ten minutes into the film. After that, the thrills get better and better. As a result, the film keeps you glued to the screen with increasing intensity.

Early on in the film, I wondered if there was enough to fill the screen time, but there was actually enough to make it action packed, without slow, pacing scenes to interrupt the action. "Unstoppable" is a good action film, relatively free from blood and violence which is rather rare for an action film these days.

Though this film has a pretty simple and straightforward story, it is still exciting to watch. It does well in establishing the normality of the lives of these railway workers and the rhythm that they work in. Scott does well in setting the tone of the film early on, and with the music accompaniment, the tension slowly rises.

Pine and Washington are good in their roles, and work well together. Perhaps it is because their characters do not get along well, which may be easier to portray. Anyway, their delivery and chemistry with each other fit the film. Dawson does well in roles with a sense of urgency to them. I vaguely remember her being an FBI agent somewhere else, and with this character, she is able to portray how intense a situation they're in.

I especially liked the cinematography and editing in this movie. With a high speed train moving through various landscapes, the numerous wide angle and aerial shots give a good view of the surroundings. The quick jump cuts, and juxtapositions between the various characters on screen also helps to keep the audience well informed.

One thing that I felt was a bit forced, was the family angle. I guess being characters, the filmmakers felt that they needed to incorporate family values, so put that in there. I didn't care much for the drama of Pine's life though. I was intrigued a little at what may have happened, but Pine's character didn't really fit the drama.

Overall, quite an exciting but simple film.

Simple, Thrilling, and Very Entertaining. Unstoppable never tries to be anything more than it is. It follows a runaway train that occurred in Pennsylvania and the two men that try to stop it. First off, I gotta five Tony Scott credit for making a film about trains, that in itself is pretty interesting. How many people know about and use trains regularly? Then take that and turn into one of the most suspenseful, entertaining films of the year culminates into a really good time. The film's opening credits starts with how the train was lost and runs away, so right off the bat you know that it's not going to be a dull film. Before any of the main characters are brought into the story the antagonist and therefore the action get underway. Your then introduced to Will, played by Chris Pine, and Frank, played by Denzel Washington. Will is the rookie conductor that is placed under the veterans Frank's wing. Then you have Connie, played by Rosario Dawson, as the head of all the trains currently running, basically a conductor that oversees all operations, who is in charge of finding a solution to the runaway train, while also dealing with the corporate suits, mainly Oscar Galvin, played by Kevin Dunn, who are more interested in stock prices and money losses then the overall safety and physical damage the train could cause. So, after some failed attempts to stop the train, Denzel comes up with a plan to stop it, and this is where Will and Frank become involved with the runaway.

Tony Scott does a pretty good job of making the runaway train look menacing, almost like a monster that no matter what you do always keeps coming for you. The majority of special effects and stunt work were done realistically with very little CGI being used, which for me is always a plus. With it being based on a true story he definitely uses a lot of tactics to make it feel less like a film and more like your actually watching the action happen presently. There's a lot of bird eye shots of the trains making it feel like a news helicopters are shooting it, while also cutting to news broadcasts following the runaway train through the majority of the film creating a more realistic view of the whole story. He also filmed on location in Pennsylvania, which was pretty cool living in central PA and having the opportunity to talk with some of the crew.

As for the characters, the first half of the film, is where the majority of the very little character development comes into play. Will and Frank bicker back and forth at each other, when unsurprisingly they find a common bond through broken families with their wives and children. There are also many conversations, which mostly turn into arguments, between Connie and Oscar about how to stop the runaway train and the potential problems it could cause. Yet, due to the pacing and strategic place of key conversations you end up caring about the characters and are pulling for them to get out of this disaster alive. The most important and character revealing dialogue occurs during the more explosion filled scenes with the train.

Overall, it's a pretty fun time, and never has a boring moment. Just when you think the dialogue may be getting a bit to breathy and boring, Scott crashes the runaway into some object causing a major explosion. It's one of those no brain activity films that you can just sit back and enjoy. The characters are there and Scott makes sure not to fill the runtime up with too much dialogue, but with just enough to develop Frank, Will, and Connie into people we want to see succeed. Lastly, it doesn't try to be anything more than it is. It's a film about a runaway train and the people trying to stop it, that's it. Unstoppable is a thrilling ride and a guaranteed enjoyable viewing.

In Pennsylvania, one engineer is maneuvering a train in the yard and accidentally leaves the train operating without the pneumatic brakes engaged. The operation department initially believes it is a coaster but soon the operators realize that the unmanned train is running on full power. Further, it is carrying dangerous chemicals and diesel in the cargo wagons. There are many unsuccessful attempts to stop the runaway train and the veteran engineer Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington) and the young conductor Will Colson (Chris Pine) decide to take the chance to reduce the speed of the train with the most unlikely operation.

The farewell of the brilliant director Tony Scott is a thriller with non- stop action inspired in a true event in Ohio. The screenplay is engaging and the dramatization is adequate to the story. The great cast with Denzel Washington, Chris Pine and Rosario Dawson completes this excellent entertainment. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Incontrolável" ("Uncontrollable")

This is an excellent movie in almost all respects. The cast does a very good job. The two leads play off of each other very well together and project good chemistry. The supporting cast is good as well and the movie even does a good job with providing some character depth (to the extent you can in this type of movie)- you do wind up rooting for them. The director has taken a good story, and matched it with excellent, I mean excellent, cinematography and takes us an every faster roller coaster ride. The movie is well paced, it keeps you engaged from the start & doesn't let you go until its over, and was just a lot of fun to watch. I highly recommend it.