Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on January 2011

Unstoppable: ©2010 TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX

Not since Speed have I seen a film so effectively put the motion into a motion picture. A pair of railroad men, a veteran and a rookie (Denzel Washington and Chris Pine), are tasked with catching up to and stopping a driverless 800-meter train barreling along at 110kph before it hits a curve in a populated area and spills its cargo of toxic chemicals. Of course, the idea of a runaway train is not the newest thing in movieland (Buster Keaton’s The General, 1926, and don’t forget 1985’s Runaway Train). But it’s amazing how much variety and suspense director Tony Scott and screenwriter Mark Bomback are able to wring out of such a (literally) linear subject. Despite some misguided attempts at fleshing out the characters, they keep things on track. There’s no real villain, unless you count human ineptitude or a corporate wonk, but the train itself seems alive, vaguely growling and snarling, and very menacing in its multi-ton indifference. Rosario Dawson’s fantastic as a tough-as-nails train dispatcher. Bottom line: a well-crafted, unpretentious blue-collar thriller, spare at 95 minutes, edited without annoying tricks, and, above all, believable. Big screen, please. Enjoy the ride.