Unstoppable (2010 film): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Do not remove WP:ALT parameter, try to fill it in. Does someone hate blind people?
WP:REVERT pedantic protagonist antagonist from Cast section added by User:94.6.129.12
Line 52: Line 52:


==Cast==
==Cast==
* [[Denzel Washington]] as Frank Barnes, a veteran railroad engineer and the main [[protagonist]].
* [[Denzel Washington]] as Frank Barnes, a veteran railroad engineer.
* [[Chris Pine]] as Will Colson, a young train conductor.
* [[Chris Pine]] as Will Colson, a young train conductor.
* [[Rosario Dawson]] as Connie Hooper, a train yardmaster.
* [[Rosario Dawson]] as Connie Hooper, a train yardmaster.
* [[Kevin Dunn]] as Oscar Galvin, Hooper's boss and the main [[antagonist]].
* [[Kevin Dunn]] as Oscar Galvin, Hooper's boss.
* [[Ethan Suplee]] as Dewey, an engineer who accidentally instigates the disaster.
* [[Ethan Suplee]] as Dewey, an engineer who accidentally instigates the disaster.
* [[Jessy Schram]] as Darcy Colson, Will's wife.
* [[Jessy Schram]] as Darcy Colson, Will's wife.

Revision as of 23:06, 24 December 2010

Unstoppable
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTony Scott
Written byMark Bomback
Produced byTony Scott
Julie Yorn
Mimi Rogers
Eric McLeod
Alex Young
StarringDenzel Washington
Chris Pine
Rosario Dawson
Ethan Suplee
Jessy Schram
CinematographyBen Seresin
Edited byChris Lebenzon
Robert Duffy
Music byHarry Gregson-Williams
Production
companies
Scott Free Productions
Prospect Park
Millbrook Farm Productions[2]
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • November 12, 2010 (2010-11-12)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryTemplate:Film US[1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$85 million[3][4]
Box office$134,589,357[5]

Unstoppable is a 2010 American action thriller film directed by Tony Scott, written by Mark Bomback and starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine. The film tells the story of a runaway freight train, and the two men (Washington and Pine) who attempt to stop it.

The film was released in the United States and Canada on November 12, 2010, and in the United Kingdom on November 24, 2010, and received mostly favorable reviews from film critics; it garnered a "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based upon aggregated reviews,[6] and a rating of "Generally favorable reviews" at Metacritic.[7]

Plot

In a rail yard within the northern Pennsylvania town of Fuller, a pair of hostlers working for the Allegheny and West Virginia Railroad (AWVR) are ordered to move a freight train off its current track to make way for an excursion train carrying schoolchildren. One of the hostlers, Dewey (Ethan Suplee), chooses not to connect the locomotive's air hose to save time; he does this knowing that the train's air brakes will only apply on the lead locomotive, but decides to connect the hoses after parking the train on another track. Dewey sets the locomotive's throttle at 100% in order to enable the train's dynamic brakes, but sees that an approaching switch is not set to the right track. Dewey jumps down from the slow-moving train to line the switch properly. As he does, the levers in the cab fall of their own accord. The train picks up speed, and Dewey is unsuccessful in his attempts to reboard. It leaves the yard and enters the main line unmanned.

Meanwhile, Will Colson (Chris Pine) is a newly-hired conductor for AWVR, and is partnered with veteran engineer Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington). Barnes and Colson meet by their locomotive for the day in the southern Pennsylvania city of Stanton, where Barnes, a 28-year employee, finds out that Colson, who will be in charge of the train, is only four months out of training. He reminds Colson that if there's anything he doesn't know, he should just ask. They take the locomotive out to where they will attach their train for the day. Colson learns that a court hearing that morning ended with the extension of a restraining order preventing him from seeing his wife and son rather than a lifting, as he had hoped.

Colson makes the mistake of picking up five more cars than the twenty he was ordered to. He and Barnes leave Stanton for a zinc plant. In Fuller, the hostlers let yardmaster Connie Hooper (Rosario Dawson) know that that they have a runaway train headed into opposing traffic on the main line. Assuming the dead man's switch will trigger the brakes and turn the train into a "coaster" that stops a few miles from the yard, she tells them to catch up with a speeder and stop it. She also calls Ned, a welder for the railroad, and tells him to set a switch. When he arrives at the switch, after waiting some minutes, the two in the speeder arrive, and it becomes clear that the train has passed already, moving faster than expected due to being under power. The two in the speeder proceed and catch up with the train, but do not succeed in boarding it.

Connie and the dispatchers work to get every train on the main line onto sidings. The train carrying the schoolchildren narrowly avoids a head-on collision. Oscar Galvin (Kevin Dunn), Connie's superior, calls her and asks her what's happening and what she's doing about it. She hasn't yet figured out how to stop the train and begins calling the state police to make sure that each of the grade crossings along the line are secured, since 8 of the tank cars on the runaway train collectively contain 80,000 gallons of molten phenol, a hazardous material.

On their train, Barnes and Colson hear the dispatcher's order to pull into a siding. Barnes says they can't use the siding initially assigned since the train is too long to fit in it. He asks instead if an RIP track further down the line is clear and gets permission to continue along the main line to it.

Galvin overrules Connie's suggestion to derail the train in an area of lightly populated farmland, since it would be too costly and it is still possible to stop the train. An emergency meeting of railroad executives approves another plan, but Galvin refuses to tell Connie what it is. The train's odyssey becomes a media event, followed by helicopters with continuous coverage on television and reporters at crossings in small towns. The train, picking up speed, smashes through a horse trailer caught on the tracks at one crossing.

The company's plan, to have a lashup of two locomotives enter the main line ahead of the runaway and slow it down while another employee attempts to board the lead locomotive from a helicopter, fails catastrophically, leading to the derailment of the lashup locomotives and the death of the veteran engineer operating them. The police abort another plan, to trigger the safety switch on the locomotive's side with close-range shotgun blasts at a grade crossing, when they realize the switch's proximity to the fuel tank. A state trooper's radar gun shows the train's speed to be 71 miles per hour (114 km/h) as it passes. Barnes and Colson make it into the RIP track in the nick of time, as the runaway smashes through the rearmost car of their consist.

As the train passes, Barnes sees that the coupling on the last car of the runaway is open. He decides to put his locomotive in reverse and catch the runaway by coupling onto the back of it. Colson, at first reluctant, joins him. Galvin insists that Barnes, Colson, and Connie abandon the plan, but they refuse even after Galvin threatens to fire them. Barnes then reveals that he has already been fired by Galvin, being 72 days into his 90 day notice period.

Another attempt to stop the train with derailers in a small town fails because the train is too heavy and going too fast. Evacuations begin as the train approaches Stanton, where the line crosses the town on a sharp elevated curve. Taking the curve at the runaway's current speed would result in it derailing and falling into a fuel oil tank farm, causing a major disaster.

Barnes and Colson catch up with the runaway. After Colson manually couples their locomotive to the train, severely injuring his foot in the process, they begin slowing it down with their own brakes, but are unable to slow the runaway down enough to safely navigate the curve. Barnes goes out onto the train and begins setting each car's brakes manually, but is stopped at a gap between two cars which he cannot bridge. Colson then applies an independent brake from the chase locomotive. These two factors slow the train down just enough to get it through the curve with precarious tilting, rather than a derailment. After coming out of the curve, however, the chase locomotive's brakes blow out and the train begins to pick up speed again.

Ned the welder catches up to the train, and Colson jumps into the back of his truck. Driving at high speed they make it to the lead locomotive, where Colson is finally able to get into the cab and stop the train. Colson and Barnes are declared heroes, and Colson reunites with his wife and son.

In a short epilogue, it is revealed that Barnes was promoted and retired with full benefits, that Colson got back together with his wife who is now pregnant with their second child, Connie was promoted to Galvin's job, and that Dewey is now working "in the fast-food industry".

Cast

Production

Unstoppable suffered various production challenges before filming could commence, including casting, schedule, location and budgetary concerns.[8][9]

In June 2007, 20th Century Fox was in negotiations with Martin Campbell to direct the film,[10] and he was attached as director, until March 2009 when Tony Scott came onboard as director.[11] In April, both Denzel Washington and Chris Pine were attached to the project.[12]

The original budget had been trimmed from $107 million down to $100 million, but Fox wanted to further reduce it to the low $90 million range, asking director Scott to cut his salary from $9 million to $6 million and wanting Washington to shave $4 million off his $20 million fee.[13] Washington declined, and citing lost patience with the film's lack of a start date, and although attached since April,[14] he formally withdrew from the project in July.[9] Fox made a modified offer as enticement, and he returned to the project two weeks later.[14][15][16]

Production was headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the fictional railroad depicted in the movie, the "Allegheny and West Virginia Railroad," is headquartered. Filming took place in a broad area around there including the Ohio cities of Martins Ferry, Bellaire, Mingo Junction, Steubenville and Brewster,[17] and in the Pennsylvania cities of Pittsburgh,[18] Emporium, Milesburg, Tyrone, Julian, Unionville, Port Matilda, Bradford, Monaca, Eldred, Turtlepoint, Port Allegany and Carnegie,[19] and also in Portville and Olean, New York.[20] The real-life bridge and elevated curve in a climactic scene are located in Bellaire, Ohio.[21] A two-day filming session took place at the Hooters restaurant in Monroeville, Pennsylvania (a Pittsburgh suburb), featuring 10 Hooters Girls from across the United States. Some interior scenes were shot at Mogul Media Studios on 31st street in Pittsburgh. Filming began on August 31, 2009[22] for a release on November 12, 2010.

Filming was delayed one day when part of the train accidentally derailed on November 21, 2009.[23]

The locomotives used on the runaway train (#777 and helper locomotive #767) were GE AC4400CWs leased from the Canadian Pacific Railway (respectively #9782 and #9751); the other locomotives seen in the film, including the chase locomotive (#1206), were EMD SD40-2s leased from the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway.[citation needed] #777, #767, and #1206 each had back-up locomotives that were mainly used for cab shots as well as replacements in case one was damaged too badly. The passenger coaches used in the film that were carrying the school children were provided by the Orrville Railroad Heritage Society.[24]

Inspiration

Main article: CSX 8888 incident

Unstoppable is inspired by the CSX 8888 incident (also called the "Crazy Eights" unmanned train incident) in 2001. The train, led by CSX Transportation SD40-2 #8888, left its Walbridge, Ohio, rail yard and began a 66-mile (106 km) journey through northwest Ohio with no one at the controls, after the engineer got out of the originally slow-moving train to correctly line a switch, mistakenly believing he had properly set the train's dynamic braking system, just as his counterpart in the movie did.

Two of the train's tank cars also contained thousands of gallons of molten phenol, a toxic ingredient of paints and dyes harmful when it is inhaled, ingested, or comes into contact with the skin. Attempts to derail it using a portable derailer failed, and police were unable to shoot out the fuel release valve, instead hitting the fuel cap. For two hours, the train traveled along at speeds up to 47 miles per hour (76 km/h) until the crew of a second train coupled onto the runaway and slowly applied its brakes. Once the runaway was slowed down to a speed of 11 miles per hour, a CSX employee, trainmaster Jon Hosfeld, ran alongside the train and climbed aboard, shutting down the locomotive. The train was stopped just southeast of Kenton, Ohio.[25]

When the film was released, the Toledo Blade compared the events of the film to the real-life incident. "It's predictably exaggerated and dramatized to make it more entertaining," wrote David Patch, "but close enough to the real thing to support the 'Inspired by True Events' announcement that flashes across the screen at its start." He notes that the dead man switch would probably have worked in real life despite the unconnected brake hoses, unless the locomotive brakes were already applied. The film exaggerates the possible damage the phenol could have caused in a fire, and he found it incredible that the fictional AWVR freely disseminated information such as employees' names and images and the cause of the runaway to the media. In the real instance, he writes, the cause of the runaway was not disclosed until months later when the National Transportation Safety Board released its report, and CSX never made public the name of the engineer whose error let the train slip, nor what disciplinary action it took.[26]

Release

Marketing

A trailer was released online on August 6, 2010.[27] The film went on general release November 12, 2010.

Reception

Critical response

Unstoppable has received mostly favorable reviews. Review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 86% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 152 reviews, with an average score of 6.8/10. The film is "Certified Fresh", and the critical consensus is: "As fast, loud, and relentless as the train at the center of the story, Unstoppable is perfect popcorn entertainment—and director Tony Scott's best movie in years."[6]

Metacritic gives the film a score of 69% based on reviews from 32 critics indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7]

Film critic Roger Ebert rated the film three and a half stars out of four, remarking in his review, "In terms of sheer craftsmanship, this is a superb film."[28] In The New York Times, Manohla Dargis praised the film's visual style, saying that Scott "creates an unexpectedly rich world of chugging, rushing trains slicing across equally beautiful industrial and natural landscapes."[29]

The Globe and Mail, a Canadian newspaper, was more measured. While the movie's action scenes "ha[ve] the greasy punch of a three-minute heavy-metal guitar solo", its critic felt the characters were weak. Ultimately, its review called the film "an opportunistic political allegory about an economy that's out of control and industries that are weakened by layoffs, under-staffing and corporate callousness."[30]

Box office

Unstoppable was expected to take in about the same amount of money at the box office as The Taking of Pelham 123, another Tony Scott film about an out-of-control train starring Denzel Washington. Pelham took in $23.4 million during its opening weekend in the United States and Canada.[3] Unstoppable had a strong opening night on Friday November 12, 2010, coming in ahead of Megamind with a gross of $8.1 million. However Megamind won the weekend earning earning $30 million to Unstoppable 's $23.9 million.[31] With these results, Unstoppable performed slightly better than The Taking of Pelham 123 did in its opening weekend.[32][5]

References

  1. ^ ""Unstoppable": Denzel wrestles runaway train, saves American manhood". Salon.com. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  2. ^ "Unstoppable – Production Credits". The New York Times. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Movie Projector: 'Unstoppable' seeks to derail 'Megamind' as 'Morning Glory' looks dim". Los Angeles Times. November 11, 2010. One person close to the production said "Unstoppable" cost about $100 million after the benefit of tax credits, though another person close to Fox said the final budget was closer to $85 million.
  4. ^ "Unstoppable - Box Office Data, Movie News, Cast Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  5. ^ a b "Unstoppable (2010)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved December 09, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  6. ^ a b "Unstoppable Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  7. ^ a b "Unstoppable Reviews, Ratings, Credits". Metacritic. CBS.
  8. ^ Zeitchik, Steven (June 30, 2009). "Action pic "Unstoppable" hits budget snags". Reuters.com. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 17, 2009.
  9. ^ a b Fleming, Michael (July 13, 2009). "Denzel Washington exits 'Unstoppable'". Variety. Retrieved August 17, 2009.
  10. ^ Fleming, Michael (June 7, 2007). "Fox dealing with 'Unstoppable' budget". Variety. Retrieved August 17, 2009.
  11. ^ Fleming, Michael (March 27, 2009). "Tony Scott boards 'Unstoppable'". Variety. Retrieved August 17, 2009.
  12. ^ Fleming, Michael (June 29, 2009). "Fox train thriller just 'Unstoppable'". Variety. Retrieved August 17, 2009.
  13. ^ "Denzel Washington Drops Out of Unstoppable?". ComingSoon.com. July 14, 2009. Retrieved August 17, 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ a b Parsons, Ryan (July 23, 2009). "Denzel Washington Unstoppable Again". CanMag.com. Retrieved August 17, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ Fleming, Michael (July 22, 2009). "Washington back on track with Fox". Variety. Retrieved August 17, 2009.
  16. ^ Goldstein, Patrick (August 5, 2009). "In the salary tug of war between studios and talent, it's no contest". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Group. Retrieved August 17, 2009.
  17. ^ Heldenfels, Rich (November 7, 2010). "Ohio is stunt double". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  18. ^ Vancheri, Barbara (July 24, 2009). "Action flick 'Unstoppable' to film in Pittsburgh". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved August 17, 2009.
  19. ^ "Denzel Washington movie call takes job fair tone". The Associated Press. August 27, 2009.[dead link]
  20. ^ Hollywood comes to Olean Friday. WIVB.com. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  21. ^ Barbara Vancheri (November 12, 2010). "'Unstoppable' director Tony Scott loved filming in Pennsylvania". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Block Communications. Retrieved December 09, 2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  22. ^ "We Hear: Kevin Chapman, Denzel Washington, Tom Werner & more..." Boston Herald. August 17, 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ "Train Derails in Bridgeport, Not Part of Movie". Fox News. News Corporation. November 21, 2009. Retrieved September 23, 2009.
  24. ^ Locher, Paul (November 14, 2010). "Trains featured in movie starring Denzel Washington". The-Daily-Record.com. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
  25. ^ "CSX 8888 – The Final Report". Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  26. ^ Patch, David (November 12, 2010). "Hollywood widens truth gauge in runaway train flick". Toledo Blade. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  27. ^ Rosenberg, Adam (2010-06-08). 'Unstoppable' Trailer Rolling Like An Out-Of-Control Freight Train. MTV Movie Blog. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
  28. ^ Ebert, Roger (November 10, 2010). "Unstoppable". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  29. ^ Dargis, Manohla (November 11, 2010). "I Think I Can: Trying to Stop a Crazy Train Hurtling to Disaster". The New York Times. p. 2. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  30. ^ "Unstoppable: Like derivatives trading, this train is out of control". The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Canada: CTVGlobeMedia. November 12, 2010. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  31. ^ "Box office: No. 1 'Megamind' stops 'Unstoppable'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 09, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  32. ^ Brandon Gray (November 13, 2010). "Friday Report: 'Unstoppable' Squeaks by 'Megamind'". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Unstoppable_(2010_film)&oldid=404098725"