It’s Die Hard on a runaway train! With the last stop now in sight, it’s full steam ahead on the show this week as the boys attempt “to run this bitch down” (in the nicest possible way of course) by discussing Tony Scott’s swaggering swansong UNSTOPPABLE (2010) in the context of disaster movies, Die Hard, and the action genre in general!
When a massive freight train designated 777 accidentally escapes a Pennsylvania railyard under its own power, the authorities scramble to find a solution as the driverless locomotive increases its speed. This highly dangerous situation is yet further complicated when they become aware of 777’s volatile chemical cargo, that effectively turns the runaway train into “a missile the size of the Chrysler building”…a missile that’s now heading into inexorably into a heavily populated area. Fate and circumstances mean that two unlikely heroes – veteran train driver Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington) and rookie conductor Will Colson (Chris Pine) – find themselves on a collision course with the errant vehicle – and with the help of canny yardmaster Connie Hooper (Rosario Dawson), they hatch an audacious plan to try and stop this metallic monster from causing mass destruction in the area they all call home.
In this thoughtful and emotive conversation, Phil and Liam discuss the film’s importance both as the last film of an iconic artist, and as arguably the last pure action movie ever made…before the entire genre changed forever. They muse on its standing as one of the greatest working class pictures of all time, discuss the potential for it being the best disaster movie ever committed to celluloid, and elaborate further on the idea of the “competency porn” that’s writ large throughout Tony Scott’s filmography. As always there’s detailed analysis of UNSTOPPABLE’s bountiful “Die Hard DNA”, before the lads trade their yellow vests for tuxedos to hand out the “Die Hard Oscars”, and finally the guys bring this beast to a halt with the ever-popular “Double Jeopardy” trivia quiz!
TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l__gGyq21U8
At the time of release, UNSTOPPABLE is streaming on Fubo, Starz, and Philo and is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV/iTunes, YouTube, Fandango and all the usual platforms! It is also available on physical media!
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