Unstoppable - Out of Control

They've done it again: for the fifth time, director Tony Scott and his favorite leading man Denzel Washington have teamed up to bring movie audiences action at its finest. As with "The Hijacking of the Pelham Subway 1 2 3", Scott and Washington once again stay on the rails in "Unstoppable - Out of Control", but instead of a crowded subway, this time an unmanned train loaded with high explosives is at the center of the thrilling action.

The day doesn't start well for Will Colson (Chris Pine). Not only is he about to lose custody of his young son. Of all days, he also has to start his new job as a train conductor under the supervision of veteran Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington), who doesn't take too kindly to his young colleague. But the men hardly have time to give each other a hard time. Because due to a mistake of a shunter, an unmanned freight train with dangerous cargo on board races towards densely populated areas. And the only hope for rescue are Will and Frank, whose train is on the same track as the out-of-control death train...

"Unstoppable - Out of Control" really doesn't reinvent the action genre. The story seems familiar to anyone who knows a little about the subject at almost every moment. Several clichés, like the various family problems of the two main characters and the evil suit-owner who only cares about profit, don't really help to fill the movie with originality. And yet, it all works surprisingly well. Scott presents his audience with straightforward old-school action, without a lot of technical effects bells and whistles and overloaded plot twists. That the director manages that an almost straight ahead train can generate so much tension is actually almost a real feat in times of giant robots, alien invasions and mutant superheroes.

Who, however, literally falls by the wayside are the actors. Because even if both Denzel Washington, as well as new Captain Kirk Chris Pine deliver more than solid performances and also Rosario Dawson as a tough shunter to convince, it is not the actors who remain in the end in the memory. Rather, there is always the feeling that the film would have worked well with less talented actors. Since Denzel Washington is on the back burner anyway and Chris Pine is barely recognizable in the fast-cut action sequences, it can be assumed that it's not these stars who get this train rolling.

"Unstoppable - Out of Control"'s bottom line is really just old familiar things served up anew. But it is so exciting, entertaining and gripping that a visit to the cinema can be recommended to every fan of good, in the best sense of the word old-fashioned action. Worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp