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A missile the size of the Chrysler building (in NYC) carrying deadly, highly combustible chemicals is hurtling down the track at 70mph toward highly populated areas.

What you gonna do now?

As one of the characters laments:

Too much train traveling too fast.

Blessed by the Lord
Yipee, the Gods finally smiled on us last night and showered us with their bountiful blessings.

How so, you curious schmucks want to know, eh?

By providing us entree to a sneak preview of the new Denzel Washington movie Unstoppable that’s scheduled for official release this coming Friday (November 12).

Inspired by true events that happened in 2001 in Ohio, Unstoppable is a riveting movie of two railroad employees Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington) and Will Colson (Chris Pine) who manage to halt a long speeding runaway freight train carrying huge quantities of molten phenol by chasing the unmanned train with their train in reverse.

In reverse?

Yes, that’s right. They are chasing a runaway unmanned train in reverse!

Plenty of Drama
Minutes into the movie, as the unmanned train starts rolling the drama starts and the momentum is retained until almost the very end.

Director Tony Scott deftly alternates shots of the unmanned train with scenes inside the second train manned by Barnes and Colson, the control room where the tense Connie Hooper (Rosario Dawson) is in charge, the media circus, the police outside, evacuation of nearby houses, family members of Barnes and Colson and the reaction of the corporate office to the unfolding disaster barreling down the track.

And of course, the multiple failed attempts to halt the speeding train.

The amalgam of all of these varied, finely executed scenes is to create a composite that builds, ramps up and holds the tension forcing the viewer into an unblinking stare at the screen.

One of the biggest and vexing problems of Indian movies, be they from Bollywood or Kollywood,  is the inability to handle layers, the chronic incapacity to manage complexity, leading inevitably to a uni-dimensional portrait or caricature that turns to be so disappointing to paying viewers.

Coming back to Unstoppable, the photography (aerial shots, side-views, inside the engine cab and below the speeding train pictures) and soundtrack add to the allure of the film.

The tight screenplay is by Mark Bomback.

Restrained Performance
We can’t remember the last time we were so entertained by Denzel Washington.

This is a restrained performance by one of Hollywood’s top actors and an Oscar winner.

Whether in the banter with the rookie conductor Colson (Chris Pine) or as he calmly informs the threatening corporate honcho that he’s already been fired or as he tells Colson how he recounts the day’s events to his late wife or when, fearing imminent death, he informs his two puzzled daughters that he loves them,  it’s a delight to watch Denzel Washington on the screen.

To be fair, Washington’s co-star Chris Pine does a fine job too as the young man weighed down by family problems and facing a challenging ordeal his first day on the job.

If you dolts like your movie to be entertaining, if you putzheads want value for your ticket money, if you dickheads love classy films, then Unstoppable is your cup of tea. The movie is releasing across the U.S. this Friday.

SearchIndia.com strongly recommends Unstoppable.