Unstoppable (2004) Reviews

• Story-driven action film with a touch of originality

  gridoon20192008-10-15

  Wesley Snipes fans expecting a fightfest will probably be disappointed with "Unstoppable" / "Nine Lives", since the martial arts quotient is very limited. But those who prefer their action films to be driven by their stories and have a touch of originality in them will probably like this more. The originality comes mostly in the form of the hallucinogenic effects of the drug that Snipes gets injected with, and the ways director David Carson merges illusions with reality. Snipes is believably haunted by his war memories, just as he is believably disoriented by the drug; an action star like, say, Steven Seagal, would hardly be able to handle this role. Playing a police detective who is also Snipes' girlfriend, Jacqueline Obradors is uncompromisingly tough, foul-mouthed and occasionally even unpleasant, and she handles it all with conviction. And Kim Coates always makes a dependable villain. The film also contains one of the funniest lines I've heard in a long time, precisely because it's so unexpected: "Hey, have you seen my pony?" (**1/2)

• Not a bad movie

  drmkeeper2004-08-29

  I like almost all Snipes' action movies. This one is not exception. Not a bad movie. Film tells us about some CIA guys who create some drug which affect human brain in a special way. People who take a shot of this drug starting see hallucinations… And these guys lookin' for a FBI agent, and wanna interrogate him with this drug. They give an injection to Cage (Snipes) by mistake, as they thought that he was FBI agent. They just didn't know that he is not an agent, he is ex-military man. Cage starts seeing his illusions and thinks that he is still at war. Now he is trying to stay alive… Not a bad movie. I like the plot, but it seems to me, that the script could be much better. I got a feeling that the screenwriter did this script during couple of days. But if you like other action movies with Snipes, I guess you'll like this one too. It's worth seeing, but only once. 3 of 5.

• average plus B movie

  dromasca2005-11-26

  This movie was made by a team of beginners, almost everybody is unknown in the team, with the exception of Wesley Snipes. It seems to be done on a low budget, but it is ambitious, well paced, and frankly speaking I do not understand the negative reactions of many of the viewers who commented on this film. The story is in the post-war trauma genre, with the principal hero getting caught into a mistaken identity case, involved in some psychotic drugs exchange, and injected himself with the drug, which leads to personality control and is fatal if an anti-dote is not found in the next few hours. Sure, there are a lot of coincidences around to enable the story, and the film has its dose of incredible gunshots and violent fist punching, but it's not worse than in most of the blockbusters in recent years. What counts and is good in my opinion is the fact that the story is well-filmed, characters are credible and the relationship between the main character, his girl-friend including the follow-ups of the war experiences of the hero are human and credible. Acting is OK, no good special effects to mention, but the interest on what is going on is kept awake all over. The film does not seem to have been released in cinemas in the US, may have gone directly to video and DVD, and I am wondering why. Anyway, for action films lovers it's an average plus installment, not to be avoided.

• great action

  danieljakubovic2005-05-09

  i loved this movie, i thought it was really cool, a little different then the average action film, deeper at times and good plot. loved the character and especially the Flashback section when they want to burn Scott in the prisoners interrogating room ( the lead character's best friend ) how it goes from reality to what he sees in his mind. strong scene, didn't expect it... it really makes u get into Wesley's character. i liked also the character of Wesley's girl...kicked ass. there r really good action scenes and interesting scenes, a bit weird to the good side at times which again makes it a little different then the average action flick. kicks ass!!! i recommend it. Sabah

• Pretty good

  jpintar2005-02-16

  I rented out this movie expecting a piece of junk. I actually got an involving movie. Wesley Snipes is good in this movie. The girl who plays his love interest (who appears on NYPD Blue and I can't think of her name) is also good. Snipes plays a former special forces agent who is mistaken for an assassin. He is injected with a drug that makes him hallucinate. His girlfriend is a cop who is the person he can trust with people trying to kill him left and right. This movie was obviously made on a low budget and it shows sometimes with some fake looking special effects. The plot comes dangerously close to idiot plot (where the movie would be over immediately if everybody wasn't an idiot)at times. However, you can't help but get yourself involved with this story. This beats the disappointing Blade: Trinity, which ended the series on a low note. This is worth a DVD rental. 7/10