By Karen - 05 August 2021
The biggest feeling of watching "Unstoppable" is that you can hardly feel the passage of time. But this is another story that races against time. The audience is always shrouded in a huge sense of crisis. Even if we know that all of this will eventually be eliminated, the dangers in the process can still bring people a surviving pleasure. In hindsight, this was not a big deal at all. There are many bluffs in the film. I believe there are a thousand ways to send people on the out-of-control train, but the film uses what seems the most unreliable. One kind, but the huge impact contained in this story allows us to ignore the loopholes in the plot, and to enjoy the process to the fullest. The commercial elements and production skills in "Unstoppable" are fully integrated. The key to winning the film lies in the rhythm. The cumulative crisis effect envelops the plot to move forward at a suffocating speed like a free fall. Both photography and editing are extremely fast. It is impactful, and the soundtrack plays a vital role in the rhythm of relaxation. The high-tempo event theme and the graceful and soothing character theme are scattered and complement each other, effectively mobilizing the audience's viewing psychology.
"Unstoppable" is the fifth collaboration between director Tony Scott and Denzel Washington after "Crimson Tide", "Man on Fire", "Deja vu" and "The Taking of Pelham 123". The two have a deep understanding. , To ensure the most basic entertainment quality of the co-operated films. Although "The Taking of Pelham 123" has been criticized a lot, it is only because many people treat it as a simple police film and ignore the pungent political allegory and institutional criticism contained in it. "Unstoppable" also continues this critical style of reality to a certain extent. It makes a ruthless mockery of the bureaucracy characterized by inefficiency and false internal behavior represented by the railway company executive Galvin. On the other hand, they praised the great wisdom, courage and dedication of the low-level blue-collar workers represented by Frank and Will in the face of the crisis. Also played by Denzel Washington, Frank, who was ordered to retire early and halved his pension here, has a similar situation to Gable, who was demoted due to rumors of bribery in "The Taking of Pelham 123", but was marginalized by the system in this way. The lower-level employees at the end of the day became the hero who turned the tide.
Based on real events, "Unstoppable" is a movie without enemies, but it has high-intensity confrontation, thanks to the film's superb narrative skills and production standards. In fact, there are so many things in Hollywood movies that we should learn from, not only the integrated imagination and control of "Inception", but also the main theme movies like "Unstoppable", and see how powerful they are. And the sophisticated commercial packaging interprets the traditional theme of fighting against disasters like Rending Shengtian. This gap is not only manifested in production ability. It allows an ordinary person who usually serves as the cornerstone of the bottom of society to become a lever to move the earth at a critical moment, thereby conveying the human theme in line with mainstream values, which is better than some domestic Similar movies are much more sophisticated. If this concept is not changed, even if the technical level is improved, it will only be possible to produce a vulgar and flattering movie like "Super Typhoon" that makes a two-pole mayor fight like Ultraman.
Finally, there are two interesting details. One is where Frank’s two daughters work part-time at Hooters Fast Food. This is a place where American iconic blue-collar workers gather. The waitresses are dressed in short skirts and sometimes perform singing and dancing performances. I have been there. Hooters' branches in the mainland have the same style as the United States, so you can check it out if you are interested. Frank was full of pride when he talked about this. This is a very warm but powerful detail that portrays the simple character of the character. The other is that there is only one helicopter that always accompanies the two protagonists to deal with the out-of-control train. This is not from the US police or the military, but a live helicopter of Fox News. As a company executive, Galvin The information obtained is not as accurate and sufficient as that of live TV.
