The Fox show “24” had the ticking time bomb plot device virtually all to itself for eight seasons. Just how far do you go interrogating a suspect with information about a nuclear bomb ready to blow? “Unthinkable” addresses the very question that haunted Jack Bauer day after miserable day – but you couldn’t buy a ticket for it. Fox’s “24” scored big ratings during its network run, but “Unthinkable” didn’t snare a theatrical release in the U.S.
The film, which shoots straight to DVD and Blu-ray today, focuses on a Muslim extremist planning to flatten three U.S. cities. Sounds like can’t miss material, but a tortured screenplay leaves far too many questions unanswered while wasting an impressive cast.
An American Muslim named Younger (Michael Sheen, sans British accent) planted nuclear bombs in three cities and allowed himself to be captured by U.S. officials. But he won’t say a syllable about the bombs’ locations.
Enter Samuel L. Jackson as “H,” a mysterious interrogator with a track record of getting criminals to talk – and a willingness to spill a little blood in the process.
He’s so ruthless he lives under an assumed identity to protect his children. But law officials are willing to put up with his antics. Simply put – he gets results.
Not everyone agrees with his methods.
FBI agent Helen Brody (Carrie-Anne Moss) adheres to the ACLU interrogation handbook – ask nicely for information and, if that fails, say “pretty please with sugar on top.”
Brody and H lock horns, their dialogue representing the kind of Left/Right debate about coercive interrogation you’ve heard a dozen times before.
It’s all fine fodder for a ripped-from-the-headlines thriller, and bravo to the minds behind the movie for addressing an issue that has haunted us since the September 11th attacks.
So why doesn’t “Unthinkable” throb with tension as the bombs go tick-tick-tick? Blame the sterilized setting which reduces the film to a glorified stage play. The bulk of the action takes place in the interrogation room, a drab affair which applies even more pressure on the screenplay to keep us engaged.
That’s a mistake, since the hokey dialogue adds little to the ongoing debate on national security and leaves all the major characters undercooked.
We never really get to know any of the key players, from Younger’s inscrutable villain to Jackson’s antihero. The one character shown a measure of depth belongs to Moss. The “Matrix” beauty begins as a bleeding heart caricature but grows to appreciate H’s approach to his craft – to a point.
The film’s politics can be a chore to decipher, and summing up the talking point tally requires a spoiler warning. Suffice to say both sides of the interrogation debate get their say, but neither proves convincing – or authentic.
The Blu-ray extras include a commentary track from director Gregor Jordan (“The Informers”) plus an extended version of the film with an alternate ending.
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