Unstoppable (2010) * * * 1/2

Directed by:  Tony Scott

Starring:  Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Kevin Dunn, Ethan Suplee

Unstoppable is "based on a true story" of a runaway train that tore through Western Pennsylvania during one fall day in 2008.     I don't know much about the real story, but regardless of how loosely Unstoppable plays with the facts, this is a thriller full of palpable suspense and energy.    

The film opens on a regular day in Western Pa.    A new railroad employee named Will Colson (Pine) is teamed with savvy veteran Frank Barnes (Washington) to pick up loads on their run.     Little do they know that miles away, a dopey yard worker parking a train jumps off before allowing it to stop.    The train at first coasts away, but soon gathers speed up to 75 mph because the braking system wasn't engaged.     In the words of railway supervisor Connie Hooper (Dawson), "the train has become a missile."     It is also carrying enough explosives to level a small town if it were to crash there. 

Frank and Will narrowly avoid a collision with the runaway train when they detour off the main track, but decide to chase it down with the plan to connect to the back of the train and slow it down before it crashes.     I'm not 100% certain if their plan isn't foolhardy, but it becomes the only hope anyone has of avoiding a disaster.    Other attempts to derail, board, or slow the train failed.    It's amusing to see the yard worker watching the train on TV and praying tirelessly for something to bail him out of the deep shit he's in.     Would it shock anyone to learn that he had worked his last shift in the railroad industry?

The train and the visual effects are the stars of Unstoppable, so director Scott (like the train) goes full throttle.     Washington and Pine are an effective team trying desperately to stop a catastrophe from happening.      Washington is especially convincing in his well-honed knowledge of trains.     I couldn't say if he's accurate, but he sure sounded like he was.     The locomotive itself is indeed a scary machine that destroys anyone or anything that gets in its way.     It is a perfect storm of Newton's laws, but what kind of force can stop it from staying in motion before it derails on an elevated curve near Scranton?     Therein lies the gripping suspense.

It's difficult not to be sucked into the drama.     Railroad executives consider the best way to save their train and avoid a catastrophic crash which would cost them billions in damage.     Oscar Galvin (Dunn) shouts orders into his speakerphone in an effort to save the company, lives, and his neck; not necessarily in that order.       We kinda sorta know how it all will play out, but the joy of watching Unstoppable is mostly because it is so exciting and extremely well-made.     You can't ask for much more.