Hollywood Product: Unstoppable

GENRE: Blue-collar, runaway train thriller

THE PITCH: Based on a true story, a freshman conductor, Will Colson (Chris Pine) and a veteran engineer, Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington) attempt to stop runaway train #777 (“The Beast”), carrying flammable, toxic materials from potentially derailing and destroying a Pennsylvania town.

MONEY SHOT: The unmanned train barrels towards an elbow curve flanked by fuel tanks right in the heart of the densely populated city of Stanton, Penn. The now renegade duo of Barnes and Colson along with their Train Dispatcher, Connie Hooper (Rosario Dawson) devise an all-or-nothing plan to save the town. There’s no way to explain the plan without spoiling the scene. Lets just say this suspenseful moment will have you holding your breath and on the edge of your seat.

BEST LINE: This will probably turn into the new can-do catch phrase. Connie informs Frank they have one last chance to catch up and stop the train. After discussing the plan, Connie instructs her two saviors to make it happen, to which Frank replies, “I’m on it, in it, around it and through it.”

SHE GOT LEGS: Both of Frank’s daughters work at the home of orange shorts, T&A and chicken wings: Hooter’s. Believe it or not, they’re both working to pay their way through college.

FACT AND FICTION: The film is loosely based on a true story. The actually runaway incident happened in 2001 when the unmanned train nicknamed the “Crazy Eights” — locomotive #8888, left the Walbridge, Ohio rail yard and traveled 66 miles through Northwest Ohio. The actual train never ran through a populated town and was never in danger or derailing. The Crazy Eights was actually carrying Phenol, a highly combustible and poisonous chemical. No one was injured or killed in the attempt to stop the wayward train, but I’m sure a couple of people were actually fired. The two Pennsylvania cities mentioned in the film: Stanton and Brewster, are fictional.

DUCT TAPE USE #98: Will’s foot is mangled while attempting to couple their locomotive engine to the errant train. Frank throws him a roll of duct tape to wrap his bloodied foot.

NUMBER OF PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RUNAWAY TRAIN: Two

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ATTEMPTED TO STOP THE TRAIN: Six

NUMBER OF FAILED ATTEMPTS: Four

BOTTOM LINE: Director Tony Scott and his long time go-to man Denzel Washington must have a thing about trains. After all, this is their second train-related film together back-to-back. Their first film, a remake of The Taking of Pelham 123 was a suspenseful, charged ride that grabbed you early on and Unstoppable seems to follow along the same track. Scott is able to turn something as mundane as a train that went for an 2-hour joyride and turn it into a nail-biting, hold-on-to-your-seats thrill ride full of action, heart and ultimately redemption. What works is his technique of getting the character development out of the way as quickly as possible, leaving the bulk of the story brimmed with high-speed chases and moments that leave you gasping at every near miss, and fingers crossed for the two lone heroes. As always, Washington feels natural as a train engineer essentially grooming his replacement while Pine does a creditable job as the troubled family man who desperately just wants to do the right thing. Dawson’s gritty, blue-collared Connie eventually fades into the background with no back story and spends most of her time keeping the corporate wolves at bay and barking orders to her support staff. It should be mentioned that Scott turns his shiny, million-ton train, “The Beast” into an outright scene-stealer. Moving at speeds above 70 miles-per-hour, Triple-7 creates the moments that make you cringe, scream and cheer as crews, including the duo of Frank and Will, desperately attempts to stop, or just slow her down. With a seemingly simple premise of a runaway train, Unstoppable is an exhilarating film - it goes full throttle, delivering a nonstop thrill ride and a satisfying payoff in the end.