7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.9 |
When a nuclear expert-turned-extremist plants devices in three separate cities, the country's counter-terrorism force springs into action and captures him. But the location of his bombs remains a mystery. With time running out, FBI agent Helen Brody agrees to work alongside a mysterious interrogator known only as "H", whose ruthless methods get results. But a power struggle develops between Brody, "H' and the terrorist.
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Carrie-Anne Moss, Michael Sheen, Martin Donovan (II), Brandon RouthThriller | 100% |
Psychological thriller | 2% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
BD-Live
movieIQ
Region A, B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Do you understand what I'm about to do to you?
Here's a case of art imitating life with the intention of bringing a more personal and accessible look
into one of the day's most controversial yet heavily veiled and confused topics. That topic is
torture, and
Director Gregor Jordan's (The Informers)
Unthinkable, ironically, will leave its viewers thinking long after it concludes, thinking
about the value of a single life in the shadow of coming mass casualties, the validity of physical
punishment as a means of obtaining time-sensitive and potentially life-saving information, and the
boundaries between acceptable and outright amoral activities when faced with a last-resort
scenario.
However, the film proper toes the line and never truly comments one way or another as to
whether
the events depicted therein are justifiable or not; the picture is ambiguous at best and features a
third act that's ripe with several twists and turns that will leave viewers breathless and distraught
on
one hand but also, at the very least, understanding of the lengths that sometimes may be deemed
necessary to prevent disaster on an epic scale.
Unthinkable? You ain't seen nothin' yet.
Sony brings Unthinkable to Blu-ray with a strongly-realized 1080p, 1.85:1-framed transfer. The image boasts unbeatable details, even under the picture's strong gray and cold visual scheme. Close-ups of faces reveal even the most minute skin textures while other everyday objects scattered about the film feature crystal-clear detailing on every surface. The transfer is sharp and features a consistent sense of depth, even, again, despite the film's lack of a bolder and more colorful palette. Flesh tones are generally natural in shade, while blacks are often spot-on with only a few instances where they appear to drown out finer details in the darker recesses of several shots. The print features a few speckles and at least one instance of minimal aliasing visible on a building exterior, but otherwise, the print is in tip-top shape and is accompanied by a rather thick layer of film grain that lends to the transfer a pleasing cinematic texture. Unthinkable isn't a visual tour-de-force by default, but the transfer appears extremely faithful to the source, even if that source isn't made of eye candy stuff.
Unthinkable debuts on Blu-ray with a sound but audibly unremarkable DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Other than a few exceptions that deliver a fair amount of bass and oomph, there's little to this track beyond light music and dialogue. As to the former, the film's score is wonderfully realized throughout; it's smooth, rich, satisfying, spacious, and clear, every note flowing from the speakers and enveloping the listening area in wonderfully detailed waves of sound that bring the film to vivid aural life. Slight atmospherics are heard on occasion, but the track isn't awash in ambience; insects buzz and a gentle breeze blows through the soundstage in one outdoor scene, the slight and constant hum of an overhead fluorescent light penetrates the listening area in another to nice and realistic effect, and dripping water heard during an early torture scene places the listener in the room. Dialogue is consistently clear and discernible with no apparent hiccups to be found. Otherwise, there's little more of note here. This is a basic soundtrack, but one that's nevertheless well-done within the scope of the limited material it has to work with. Listeners won't remember this track alongside the greats, but its proficiency in handling all that's asked of it is reason enough to admire it.
Unthinkable offers two versions of the film: the original theatrical cut (1:35:38) and an extended version of the film (1:37:07). Otherwise, Unthinkable contains only one movie-related extra, an audio commentary track with Director Gregor Jordan. Jordan delivers a good and consistently engaging track, one that's straightforward and informative on a broad range of topics, including the history of the project, the picture's themes, the ability to watch it as either a dark Thriller or a deeper and more complex picture, the casting process, the challenges of crafting an acceptable script, the involvement of various technical advisors, the picture's realism, the effect of Obama's election on the tone of the film, his own views of torture, and much more. There's plenty of good information here; fans of the film could do worse than spending 90 or so minutes with it. Also included is BD-Live functionality; MovieIQ connectivity; and 1080p trailers for Chloe, Harry Brown, The Square, The Road, Wild Things: Foursome, The Runaways, and The Last Station.
Unthinkable is a truly frightening film on several levels; it's a disturbing visual tour of the limits of the human body's ability to cope with physical trauma while also examining the darkest side of fanaticism and one possible means of combating it. It's a film of intense psychological hardships, one that's difficult to watch but impossible to ignore, a picture that will leave viewers talking, debating, wondering how far they would or their country should go in the name of saving lives, preserving a way of life, or fighting for an ideal. Will Unthinkable change minds on torture? Probably not, but then again, that's not its primary goal. Instead, the movie delivers a sobering experience that seems to say that there are no winners or losers in a game with stakes as high as this, a game with not only lives but belief systems and man's very essence -- his soul -- on the line. Sony brings this heart-racing picture to Blu-ray with a wonderful 1080p transfer, a quality lossless soundtrack, but a noticeable absence of a stronger supplemental section. Nevertheless, Unthinkable is definitely worth a rental; viewers need balance a potential purchase against the film's arguably limited replay value.
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