Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Unthinkable Blu-ray Movie Review

Think about checking out 'Unthinkable' on Blu-ray.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 9, 2010

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.

American Steven Arthur Younger (Michael Sheen, The Damned United) is a convert to Islam who has chosen to place nuclear weapons within three of America's largest cities. He releases a video that offers few clues as to the bombs' whereabouts, though they do reveal his name and physical appearance. He's arrested soon thereafter, seemingly as if he were simply waiting for authorities to arrive. With mere days before the bombs are set to detonate, an expert in physical torture, a man known as "H" (Samuel L. Jackson, Lakeview Terrace), is called in to get every last bit of information he can out of Younger and via any means at his disposal. At his side is FBI agent Helen Brody (Carrie-Anne Moss, Memento), a woman who understands the urgency of the situation but who cannot stand by while H goes about his grisly business of extracting information from the suspect through unspeakable acts of physical torture. As the clock ticks towards the final hours before the bombs are set to detonate, H must use extreme methods of torture in hopes of learning the location of the bombs, even if it means proceeding towards an unthinkable act of desperation to get the information he and his country so desperately need.

With a movie like Unthinkable, there's really only one question to ask: how effective is it in bringing attention to the issue of torture and its place on the modern battlefield, meaning the modern battlefield that could be any city or street in America and not some far-distant, across-oceans locale littered with opposing armies, visible weapons, and a clear objective? The answer, in short, is "very." Unthinkable is, in a way, a 21st-century War film, one that recognizes that war is sometimes no longer fought with uniformed soldiers but rather between individuals, one with knowledge of a coming event and one with the determination and will to draw that information out of the other through any means necessary, particularly with lives, infrastructure, wealth, and, potentially, the fate of millions of additional lives riding on the line in what would undoubtedly be a decisive and devastating retaliatory strike on someone, somewhere, as retribution for a catastrophic terrorist act. Unthinkable is a difficult watch because it deals with difficult subject material with an apparent honesty that will make its audience squirm while at the same time engendering a real discussion on the pluses and minuses of physical human torture in the context of preventing a disaster.

The film's strength lies in its ability to, ultimately, show both sides of the torture issue, exploring the apparent depravity of inflicting untold amounts of pain on an individual while also framing within that context the possible short- and long-term benefits of using any -- any -- means at one's disposal to glean information that could prevent calamities on a large scale. Where is the line between preserving a single life and damaging an individual on a physical, personal, and psychological level with the understanding that tearing a man apart might keep intact dozens, hundreds, thousands, maybe more, of innocent lives? Is that line moved in one direction or another when the suspect has admitted to being the bringer of would-be untold pain and suffering to a populace? Is torturing an admitted terrorist justifiable if he can divulge information that could prevent disaster? What Unthinkable does so well is to humanize its characters -- particularly the admitted terrorist, the free-reign torturer, and the concerned FBI agent -- and by extension offer a collection of answers to the questions it raises, even under the veil of the grisly goings-on that define the film, showing each character with a different understanding of the hows and whys behind the torture of a man who has admitted to placing several nuclear weapons around the United States.

Indeed, Unthinkable never flinches in its depiction of torture. It's not pretty, it's not fun, and it's not easy to watch, but that uneasiness, those grisly images, and the lingering notion that soon millions in several of America's largest cities could die all play a part in making the film what it is, not a commentary on torture but a look at two extremes and the balance between gruesome physical torture and the promise of heavy innocent casualties should no action be taken to extract the information necessary to prevent disaster. The film never backs away from displaying even the harshest of violent imagery, though the brutal violence doesn't play a large role in swaying the audience to one side of the issue or the other. Unthinkable smartly engages its audience with psychological and emotional drama, those elements the lenses through which the torture is framed; never does the film lack purpose in either its display of carnage both seen and implied, and never does it lose focus of the various pros and cons of weighing one man's suffering against the pending nuclear devastation. Ultimately, however, the true lesson behind Unthinkable seems to be one that says that in the game of modern warfare that's conducted within the boundaries of unspeakable acts of violence on both sides, there is no right and wrong, only human beings with their own ideas, their own methods, their own goals, their own limits, their own consciences. Unthinkable is supported by several top-notch performances that all add to the film's convincing and emotionally draining elements. Samuel L. Jackson impresses as a man hellbent on physically obtaining the information he needs while simultaneously engaging in psychological warfare with both Younger and those outside the torture chamber that disapprove of his methods. Michael Sheen is brilliant as the steadfast terrorist, and Carrie-Anne Moss delivers a believable performance as an FBI agent with an aversion to H's methods.

Unthinkable Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

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 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.