I like railroad movies so I really looked forward to the movie “Unstoppable” Unstoppable stars Denzel Washington (and Chris Pine) as a freight train driver who is trying to stop a runaway train from destroying an entire town.
They can not intentionally derail the train as it is carrying a very explosive cargo.
The train is unmanned and constantly accelerating. The train is going so fast that they can not safely get a man on board the train to stop it. An idea is proposed to shut off the fuel supply. There is an external fuel shut off switch that is located on the side of the locomotive. It is a red button that needs to be pressed. Pressing the button will stop the flow of fuel powering the train.
Police attempt to press this fuel shut off switch by shooting at it as the train roars through an intersection. They attempt to shoot but they miss. They can not trying shooting again because the proximity of flammable fuel could cause an explosion if a stray bullet hits the fuel.
Check Out My Review of Unstoppable Here
Eventually, the railroad company is able to drive a railroad worker (Chris Pine) along side the train. He is able to jump off the truck and onto the locomotive. There is great risk in doing this. The worker has an injured foot and the high rate of speed would kill him if he does not jump far enough or land properly on the train or simply misses the locomotive.
Here’s where I have a problem with the ending. Why do they bother having the worker jump off the truck and onto the locomotive? There is no need to take such risk. Remember the red button that cuts off the fuel? Why not just drive up alongside the locomotive and, using a rod or a board, or something long, press the fuel button?
The film is loosely based on a true runaway train story so maybe it was simply staying true to that story. I find ‘true stories’ to be not all that true though, so my guess is the film ends different that the real life story.
Regardless, they should have just pressed the button.
Please check out more of my movie reviews. Is this Christian Bale Vietnam film worth a look?