UNSTOPPABLE: unremarkable but engaging

There's nothing particularly new about the plot to UNSTOPPABLE, and it certainly couldn't be accused of possessing depth or subtext but it does nonetheless offer 90 minutes of clenched fists, buttock squeezing, edge of the seat excitement.

Director Tony Scott has fashioned a rollercoaster ride out of the simple storyline of a runaway freight train and the veteran train driver (Denzel Washington) and his rookie conductor (Chris Pine) who must catch the half-mile long 'missile' and stop it before it comes off the rails in the middle of a Pennsylvania town and explodes, spraying its cargo of toxic chemicals into the atmosphere.
While Scott does pause long enough to give the two leads some back story - Washington has been fired by the train company whose ass he's trying to save, and Pine's fiery temper has estranged him from his wife and daughter - all that is irrelevant to the action that unfolds as the two trains barrel through the Pennsylvania countryside.
The climax is entirely predictable but that doesn't detract from the enjoyment to be had from the various distractions and mini-climaxes Scott sets up along the way, and the relationship that develops between the two main characters.
Suspend your disbelief, switch your critical faculties to the 'off' position, then sit back and enjoy the ride. UNSTOPPABLE is brainless entertainment at its best.