I’ve been on a Tony Scott kick for awhile now! (Check out my previous posts on Beat the Devil and Agent Orange.) What can I say though? I love his style and his final film does not disappoint. At first, the premise of the movie seems awkward and may be a turn off for most but however awkward, it is inspired by true events. An unmanned train under power races through the suburbs of Pennsylvania and (of course) it is carrying thousands of gallons of a harmful chemical – molten phenol. It is up to two railroad employees, an engineer – Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington) and a conductor – Will Colsen (Chris Pine) to catch up to the runaway train and do what they can to stop it.
Tony Scott must love trains. His two movie shorts, mentioned earlier, both included trains and lets not forget he also directed The Taking of Pelham 123. With his fast-paced edits and a palette of mechanical color tones, Scott has you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. I think the key scene is showing how a train of such massive force can escape the grips of man and all of a sudden become this very real threat to the citizens of Pennsylvania. This scene really sets the tone leaving you with genuine concern for stopping it.
Morally Oblogatory 