A 2010 Denzel Washington Thriller Is One Of Quentin Tarantino's Favorite Movies

When one imagines filmmaker Quentin Tarantino's favorite movies, one probably conjures up pulp classics like "Enter the Dragon" or "Shaft," or even acclaimed crime thrillers like "The French Connection." While the famed director probably loves those movies, he also has a fondness for some more modern films. And one of the more recent flicks to find a fan in Tarantino may come as something of a surprise: The 2010 thriller "Unstoppable," starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine.

"Unstoppable" is directed by Tony Scott, who came to fame in the '80s and '90s working with superstars like Tom Cruise, Eddie Murphy, and Will Smith on hits including "Top Gun," "Beverly Hills Cop II," and "Enemy of the State." "Unstoppable" reunites him with his "Crimson Tide" star Denzel Washington and is inspired by a true story of an out-of-control freight train that happened in 2001. Washington plays a railroad engineer who, along with a young conductor (Pine), may be the only one who can stop a runaway train carrying toxic chemicals that risks destroying countless lives.

The final film helmed by Scott before his tragic death in 2012, "Unstoppable" sent his career out on a high note. One of the best movies to be set aboard a train, it impressed Tarantino as much as it did audiences and critics, though it never did find the blockbuster success it deserved in cinemas.

"Pulp Fiction" director Quentin Tarantino has indeed spoken effusively about movies from the '60s and '70s that influenced him, be it the films of Sergio Leone or Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver." But when asked, in 2020, about his favorite films of the previous decade, "Unstoppable" was among his picks. "It just blew me away so much," Tarantino said of the Tony Scott-directed film in a chat with the podcast "The Rewatchables" (via The Playlist) about his top 10 films of the previous 10 years. 

"Both the combination of — just the movie that's on the screen, the movie that is there — and the idea that it's one of the last great movies from one of the last great directors of all time, at the height of his powers, doing what he does," continued Tarantino, who initially ranked the film at the bottom of his top 10 list, but ultimately admitted that "after watching it again for this [podcast], it should be higher."

Given Tarantino's love of suspense and thrills, with some of his favorites being William Friedkin's "Sorcerer" and the John Sturges classic "The Great Escape," it's no wonder "Unstoppable" made his list. Critics raved about the film's nail-biting tension, with Hot Press calling it "the most exhilarating thriller of the year." Meanwhile, our sister site Slashfilm ranked it one of the very best of all 16 Tony Scott movies.