Sweet Jesus, I can't believe I really have to do this... Alright. Time to educate.
Welcome class, to today's lesson. Don't worry, there will be no exam, but it is recommended that you take notes if you've had difficulty with this subject in the past. So let's begin. The subject for today is Tony Scott's Unstoppable, featuring actors Denzel Washington and Chris Pine. For most it is quite apparent that the entire situation depicted by the trailer is in fact, unintentionally funny, however it is apparent that some people are having difficulty discerning this fact. Today, we will examine the trailer and hopefully, by the end of the lesson, we will all be in understanding about why this film is funny.
The first thing we need to establish immediately is the simple fact that trains are funny.
Why are trains funny? It's hard to be sure, but the general consensus is... "They just are." Obviously trains are incredibly useful, powerful, and awe-inspiring machines. They can rip through a car stuck on the tracks with no effort at all. Many US citizens have advocated for more funding in the railroad industry, which would offer quick and efficient transportation around the country. But at the end of the day, these magnificent devices are... funny. They're incredibly powerful, but they're limited to movement along tracks. They're comically large. Many of us associate them with popular culture elements, such as Back to the Future Part III, Thomas the Tank Engine, and other various subjects.
Besides that, the entire premise of a train going on a murderous rampage is immensely hilarious. As stated earlier, trains are incredibly powerful, but their mobility is so immensely limited. The entire problem could be solved by staying off the tracks. The notion that a train could be "lost" as one scene in the trailer mentions, is also incredibly funny. It's quite possible that in the film this is explained by something such as the devices used to keep track of trains malfunctioning and people being unsure of which way the switches have been turned, but this doesn't matter, because we, as the audience are presented with the fact that a town has misplaced an entire train, even though it should be incredibly easy to find.
But perhaps, the most humorous aspect of the train is that the trailer seems to show the train as an entity, or a demonic monster that can't be bargained or reasoned with. As the public cowers from the train as it continues it's rampage of destruction, one cannot help but find the situation humorous.
The cast of the film is also a source of comedy. One of the two main leads is portrayed by Denzel Washington, who is mostly known for his roles as hard-edged "badasses" who don't take anything from anybody. Obviously any decent actor shouldn't be seen as just a single character, but it's fun to do so. Obviously Kurtwood Smith's character on That 70s Show is vastly different from the one he portrayed in Robocop, but pretending that they're the same guy is very funny. We've seen Washington as corrupt cops, cold-blooded assassins, and a lone warrior wandering the barren wasteland of the Apocalypse. Seeing him trying to combat a train, seems rather silly in comparison.
The other lead is portrayed by actor Chris Pine, who so far has really only been noticed in the movie Star Trek, in which he played William Shatner's classic character Captain James T. Kirk. Just as we have with Washington, we are forced to compare the role in Unstoppable to the one in Star Trek, which featured massive sci-fi action with space battles, and laser fights. Seeing him fight the train seems to be a massive step down, in turns of drama. In Pine's case, the problem is only magnified by his short resume.
Obviously this type of humor involves some reaching from the participant, but is thoroughly enjoyable.
The final subject for today is the high amount of drama and action. The trailer shows a high amount of action scenes which seem very ridiculous, especially considering that the antagonist is a train. We see guys dangling from helicopters, firing assault rifles, and yelling dramatically, all in order to stop this train. At one point Chris Pine's character announces that he's going to "Run this bitch down," again further establishing the personification of the train and expressing an immense amount of drama. But the cherry on top of the dessert is the subplot. The train is going to run into another train, which is filled with innocent school children. This seems almost satirical, as it is one of the ultimate noble tasks a hero can have. This idea was even lampooned in Toy Story 3 earlier in the year. The humor is only made greater, when the audience can imagine several ways of solving this problem themselves. Again, there is likely some sort of reasoning in the movie which shoots down much of this logic, but it's not given to the audience at this time.
That concludes our lesson for today. I hope we all learned something. It's not an attack on the filmmakers or Hollywood, rather it's a genuine love of all that cheese big budget's have to offer. Unstoppable manages to provide said cheese in ten-fold.
Class is dismissed.