Siderodromophobia is defined as a fear of trains, railroads and train travel. If you don’t have this already, you may after watching the thrilling “Unstoppable.”

The setup

“Unstoppable” is the latest collaboration between Denzel Washington and director Tony Scott. This is their second consecutive movie about runaway trains, the first being “The Taking of Pelham 123.”

The story is centered on a rural Pennsylvania rail company, and their attempt to bring an unmanned freight train to a stop before anyone gets hurt. In typical Scott fashion, “Unstoppable” is a testosterone-filled race against time, full of tough guys willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done.

The characters

Frank Barnes (Washington) is a veteran train engineer who just received a pink slip, and has little hope for a retirement plan. Fresh from his breakout roll in “Star Trek,” Chris Pine plays the irreverent Will Colson, a conductor straight out of training, who the old guys have an immediate resentment for.

The story begins with Barnes and Colson as they set out for the rails on what’s supposed to be a routine freight car pickup, trading stories about their work experience and family life.

Meanwhile, a couple of incompetent rail yard workers unwittingly leave a train engine unattended while performing a very non-procedural track switch. As it turns out, that particular locomotive happens to be carrying a few cars worth of deadly chemicals. The engine’s throttle slips into gear and the train takes off at full speed before the workers can jump back on. The brakes are deactivated of course.

Connie Hooper (Rosario Dawson) is introduced as the competent, yet overwhelmed, train dispatcher calling the shots from the control center. She holds her own with the boys, matching wits with a meddlesome corporate board, while trying to solve all the problems at once.

Movie as informative as fast-paced

“Unstoppable” takes a while to build up speed — but once it does, there’s no slowing down. Any train enthusiast — and who isn’t one?— will enjoy the meaty details of the industry, and the many scenes of rusty rail yards and lumbering locomotives.
Slick visuals and quick editing keep the action moving steadily enough and give a great sense of scenery, jumping between locations all across Pennsylvania. It’s easy to imagine the filmmakers treating the piece as their giant train set.

Barnes and Colson make a decent team — their relationship is somewhat contrived, but entertaining to watch. It’s too bad the film doesn’t spend more time with them. As heroes of the story, it’s curious that they’re not even part of the action until the latter half.

Movie capitalizes on sense of danger

“Unstoppable” takes great pains to explain the origins of the incident, and relishes informing the audience of the imminent danger every few minutes. One near miss after another helps to build anticipation for the destruction the train is capable of, but repetition ultimately cheapens the threat level.

The plot is hammered home with technical jargon and frantic hyperbole, often through the clever use of real-time news footage. When all is said and done, you come away feeling like an expert on rail operations.

Inspired by true events, many of the plot points of the film are surprisingly factual — down to the manner in which the train first gets away and the hazardous contents of the cargo.

The film occasionally wanders into social commentary, with mentions of union politics, stock values and pension plans. “Unstoppable” is very much a story of the working man, and his struggle against the increasingly hostile economic climate.

Apart from the economic undertones, “Unstoppable” is at heart a pure action thriller, with a pulse-pounding finale that will have you on the edge of your seat.
Don’t be surprised if the audience breaks into cheers, if not sighs of relief. You may think twice before crossing the rails ever again.