6/10
You can say what you like about Tony Scott (and I certainly have), but I am forced to admit that if you're looking for a pure adrenaline rush, with added uplift, then this is right out of the top drawer.
Based On True Events, is what it says at the beginning of the film, and if you check this, you will see that, although somewhat exaggerated, the bare bones of the story are accurate. The situation of a runaway train without a driver, but with a load of toxic chemicals, did indeed take place in Ohio in 2001, and it was a couple of railwaymen, one a veteran, the other a rookie, who saved the day.
The film relocates the drama to Pennsylvania, speeds the runaway train up to 70 miles an hour (from 47mph), and - this being a Tony Scott movie - indulges in all manner of jump cuts, speeding up of frames, and other technical gizmos designed to keep the audience awake and alert. There's also a token and inevitable back story for the two guys; Chris Pine is having marital difficulties and Denzel Washington is widowed and has two teenage daughters.
After the train wreck that was The Taking Of Pelham 123, you'd have thought that Scott and Washington would have sworn off railroad movies for a while, but the pair have jumped back right on, and come up with a really good action thriller. One advantage is that instead of John Travolta hamming it up with his badass beard, the only enemy here is a very large red train, number 777 (sort of like 666, only more so), and instead of a lot of talking and negotiating, the narrative is propelled by motion. The train doesn't stop, that's the point. There's nothing complicated to understand (unless you try to make sense of the railway tech-speak). If the runaway train reaches a dangerous bend in Stanton ( a city of 3/4 million people), there will be blood on the tracks, and blood for a large distance on either side of the tracks. And Pine and Washington are the only hope. Guess who you'll be rooting for.
