TRAILER: Denzel's on track for a thrilling ride

For every Elephant Man, there is a Pretty Woman; for every Magnificent Seven, there is a Fantastic Four.

Cinema warmly embraces great art and great entertainment, because without the box office allure of trashy popcorn fodder, there simply wouldn’t be money in the kitty for auteurs to express their creativity.

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For more than 20 years, British director Tony Scott has unapologetically catered for the tastes of audiences who hunger for slam-bang thrills.

And he’s certainly delivered – with high-octane vehicles including Days Of Thunder, The Last Boy Scout and Enemy Of The State.

During that time, Scott has collaborated four times with Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington on Crimson Tide, Man On Fire, Deja Vu and most recently on the remake of The Taking Of Pelham 123.

The pair reunite for Unstoppable – a cinematic rush of blood to the head inspired by true events, which follows the exploits of two brave men to stop a runaway locomotive before it derails, potentially killing thousands of innocent people.

From the moment the train chugs away from its hapless driver, the film steadily gathers momentum, careening through the set-pieces, which invariably involve something being smashed to smithereens.

Think Speed on two rails, scripted by Mark Bomback, who penned Die Hard 4.0.

In a Pennsylvania rail yard, driver Dewey (Suplee) foolishly jumps off a slow-moving freight train in order to race ahead and change a set of points.

Unfortunately, the throttle jars forward and the carriages speed down the line without a driver... or any brakes. More worryingly, the locomotive includes drums of a highly-flammable liquid.

“We’re talking about a missile the length of the Chrysler Building,” warns yardmaster Connie Hooper (Dawson), who clears the entire line of trains to prevent a head-on collision, while her boss Michael Galvin (Dunn) concocts a plan of action to minimise the loss of life.

Further down the line, veteran engineer Frank Barnes (Washington) and conductor Will Colson (Pine) learn of the impending disaster.

With little thought to their own safety, the two men orchestrate a daring rescue plan to slow down the runaway train before it reaches the notorious Stanton curve, where it will inevitably derail.

Unstoppable is a breathlessly orchestrated thrill ride that spends the minimum amount of time fleshing out Frank and Will as flawed fathers, before contriving a nightmarish scenario for both men to redeem themselves in the eyes of their children.

Washington and Pine are an appealing double act and Dawson is suitably feisty.

The clatter of locomotives over tracks provides composer Harry Gregson-Williams with a natural tempo for his bombastic orchestrations.

All aboard for brainless fun.