Release Date – 11/12/2010
Will Colson is starting a new job at a rail yard. He is the conductor of a freight train while Frank Barnes is the 28 year veteran engineer. The grizzly veteran and the young upstart clash heads at first but start hitting it off as the day goes on. Meanwhile back at the rail yard, mistakes by a crew cause one of the trains to go unmanned down the main track. The control center panics as they try to think up ways to stop a mile long train containing deadly chemicals that is going up to 90mph. Will and Frank’s train is on the same track heading straight for the runaway train. The movie is pretty much nonstop suspense mixed with several action scenes. There’s not a whole lot of background on the characters but its “in the moment” type fun from beginning to end. I was pleasantly surprised. Very much so.
Denzel Washington plays Frank Barnes. He’s in a pissy mood because all the old time workers at the rail yard are getting fired to bring in rookies that are paid much less. So when he’s teamed up with Will Colson, he’s not too happy about it. Will is played by Chris Pine. He has a “doesn’t give a shit” attitude because he’s got some personal problems that are a priority in his life. The two argue when some errors are made but there’s never any real bad blood, just teasing in fun. As soon as they get word about the runaway train and realize the danger, they are all business and work perfectly as a team. In fact, they act as real heroes, risking their lives when the job didn’t ask them to. Back in the control room, Rosario Dawson plays Connie Hooper. She has all the digital maps showing where the trains are and can communicate with all of them. She works with Denzel over the radio throughout the entire film. Denzel has great chemistry with everyone he interacts with, and that’s why he’s one of the best working actors today. HA-HA MY MAN! The two bumbling employees that cause the problem are played by Ethan Suplee and TJ Miller. The way the train becomes a runaway is probably the only dumb part of the film. Its kind of silly.
The movie is directed by Tony Scott who is not a rookie to the silver screen with 15 previous movies under his belt like Top Gun, True Romance, Enemy of the State and Spy Game. He’s not a rookie in directing Denzel Washington either, as this is his 5th feature film with him following The Taking of Pelham 123, Déjà vu, Man On Fire and Crimson Tide. Scott is known for his crazy visual style but he tones it down a bit for this movie but the insane camera angles are still present. One part I did enjoy was throughout the film, news footage is mixed in as they cover the runaway train story and it provides a good break from just the same train scene over and over. It was very Tony Scott-like. Now I could have a cheesy line like its unstoppable amounts of fun or it’s a freight train filled with suspense. But I’ll just flat out say, its an awesome movie. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, has a nice little character interaction and has enough action to make you pump your fist. This is definitely Tony Scott’s best film in the last decade.
IMDB – 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 85%
Movie Wiseguys – 8/10
