Unstoppable (2004) – Review

Where to watch Unstoppable

2 Stars

Wesley Snipes’ first foray into the world of straight-to-DVD is an un-magnanimous affair. It’s not fair to say this is Snipes’ first B-movie, most of his filmography could be considered such, but those movies had a style and technical proficiency that is for the most part missing. Nicely lensed by veteran cinematographer Ward Russell, Unstoppable looks great but is overly plodding for a movie with such a simple plot-line. The headliner looks bored and goes through the motions delivering a few kicks and punches while phoning-in the more dramatic parts of the anemic script.

Dean Cage is a former Special Forces member, now back in civilian life and struggling with PTSD. Cage was a P.O.W. during the war and witnessed his best friend tortured to death, an event that causes Dean to seek group therapy at the behest of his girlfriend Amy (Jacqueline Obradors). The heartfelt chit-chat is too much for the vet, so he calls his girl and ask her to meet at a diner for a confession.

At this point an improbable case of mistaken identify occurs, Cage is assumed to be a high-ranking government dealer of a powerful hallucinogenic drug. The buyers inject Dean with the substance and take his hostage, only thing is that the fallen solider can’t differentiate between memory and reality. Now he must race to clear his name, avoid being killed by all sorts of enemies, and find an antidote.

If it seems like Wesley is well cast, that’s probably because he’s basically reprising his role of fugitive-on-the-run from U.S. Marshals. The picture starts off with a blast of violence as a man is thrown out of a moving ambulance while strapped to a gurney, then decimated by a semi-truck. If that doesn’t peak your interest, nothing in any action film will. If you were to turn off the flick after that, you’d have witnessed the highpoint of the following ninety-six minutes.

Director: David Carson
Stars: Wesley Snipes, Jacqueline Obradors, Stuart Wilson,