From the moment I saw the trailer, I found the title laughably obvious: "Unstoppable"? If the film's central conceit of an out-of-control locomotive barreling through southern Pennsylvania didn't eventually find a way to come to a halt, it would just as well be defeated by the closing-credits sequence. Grounded in the increasingly suspect "Based on True Events" claim, "Unstoppable" is, at its core, a surprisingly effective (and at times unbearably suspenseful) thriller that relies on sheer race-against-time velocity over violence to deliver a mostly unrelieved 98 minutes of nerve-racking tension. While the characters are familiar types (the Grizzled Veteran, the Hotheaded Rookie, the Private-Interests Executive, Mission Control), the actors invest a palpable energy and humanity that transcends cliché. Director Tony Scott, who has perpetrated more execrable, ADHD cinematic migraines than any other director over the past decade, admirably reins in his manic editing techniques and over-saturated neon color schemes in favor of a jerky, shaking camera that actually complements the increasingly out-of-control train (my only real objection would be his excessive, pointless use of zoom). "Unstoppable" is refreshingly entertaining -- a slice of old-school suspenseful filmmaking spiced up with contemporary technology.
6.5 out of 10
6.5 out of 10