Unstoppable

Since I'm tired of writing plot recaps lets steal yahoo's:
A veteran engineer (Denzel Wahshington) and a young conductor (Chris Pine) try frantically to stop a run-away half-mile long freight train carrying enough combustible liquids and poisonous gas to wipe out a nearby city. Inspired by true events.

Inspired by true events huh? That must mean it was inspired by that time your mom went to an all you can eat buffet (zing!). Also since Denzel's in it shouldn't we just call the film Runaway Train-ing day? Good one Eric.

Overall Unstoppable is pretty much what you'd expect from a runaway train movie. The train gets loose in the first fifteen minutes (mainly because a fat guy can't run fast enough to catch it when its barely moving, something else we can blame on obesity) and then they chase it. Since the train can't really be sneaky or twirl its mustache we also get its corporate owners who only care about their bottom line and not how many lives are going to lost, blah blah blah. Look the film hits the expected beats, it thankfully isn't too long (if Michael Bay had made this it would have been two and a half hours) and Denzel and Chris Pine have a nice rapport. Tony Scott almost ruins it with his constant cutting (seriously heaven forbid you stay on a shot long enough so we can see what's happening), but overall its enjoyable if forgettable.

Now there is one thing I have to address that might be considered a spoiler (though if you're surprised by any development in this film you probably think Thomas Kinkade makes great art). We learn early on that Chris Pine's wife is estranged from him, won't let him see their kid, won't answer the phone, etc. Well the minute she sees him on TV saving the day guess who suddenly decides to come running and be all lovey dovey? Its the most blatant example of a shallow wife this side of Will Patton's in Armageddon (the chick who won't even let his kid know that he's his father, but once he gets back from saving the world guess she's more than ready to claim paternity). Look lady if you're so afraid of your husband you take a restraining order out on him (something the film sort of glosses over) the fact that he's suddenly famous shouldn't suddenly make you want to run back into his arms. Who are you a Kardashian? In reality Chris Pine would have given her the straight arm and started hooking up with either Rosario Dawson's character or Denzel's two college age daughters who work at hooters (yeah they actually had them working at hooters. I think the crew just wanted to shoot b-roll there and needed a reason).