Unthinkable is a politically charged thriller that keeps you at the edge of your seat from beginning to end. Michael Sheen is Steven
Arthur Younger. An American who has planted 3 bombs as he is captured at the beginning of the film. He is tortured with sleep deprivation, cold water, but doesn’t give in. The mysterious H is brought in to take things up a notch. The film is bloody and graphic. H is a powerhouse of a character. Samuel L. Jackson is scary as the brutish H. The film questions the nature of torture, its effectiveness, its justification. The film’s strength is in the great cast. Michael Sheen as the captured Terrorist, Carrie Anne-Moss as the by the book Agent Brody, Stephen Root who is great here as he is everything he’s in.

The heart of the film lies in the tense relationship with Agent Brody and H. H keeps Brody around because she has integrity. Nobody likes what H is doing and will continue to do. There are only a few hours before the bombs go off. He cuts part of younger and asks no questions. When younger doesn’t give in he continues until he comes to the conclusion that he must do the unthinkable. Carrie Anne-Moss is great in the good cop role. Samuel L. Jackson and Carrie Anne-Moss are great together. Director Gregor Jordan would make Hitchcock proud.

When you think about it torture is something most people would never like to experience and taking a look at this film will bring an uneasy feeling. It’s not easy to watch and I can tell you that it is certainly not fun to see another human being in such gruesome situation. But this plays a big role in the film, when those in charge of protecting us are forced to resort to such extremes which leads to lose some of that which us human. At the end of the day the decision must be made the safety of millions or extreme measures. The film explores what this last resort really does to someone.

H is a great character. Right up there with the likes of Hannibal Lecter. Samuel L. Jackson has a reputation for yelling, and there’s a reason, he does it well. Michael Sheen is haunting as the sympathetic villain. It’s hard to find anything not to like about this film. It looks great, it feels fresh and exciting, and the cast is superb. I do have one gripe though. The extended version really adds nothing. I preferred the ending in the original version. I feel like the extended version is only made for people who already have seen the film and need a reason to buy the Blu-ray. No matter, this film is worth it. If you’re going to watch the extended version make sure you see the original first.

Unthinkable arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p MPEG4-AVC encode framed at 1.85:1. The film is based primarily in an inside setting so there isn’t abundant color palette. The film features an amazing level of detail with the close up shots exposing each of the actors skin texture or the details of the buildings when an opportunity to see the outside appears. The image is clean and sharp. The black levels are reproduced without much problems. Skin tones appear to be natural. There are some artifacts in certain scenes during the film, but these are very minor. The film is topped with a thick layer of grain which is sure to keep many viewers away. This is without a doubt a good looking Blu-ray.

Unthinkable arrives on Blu-ray with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless track. Unthinkable isn’t a track that you will remember when you are trying to thinking reference quality, but it does do a good job with material it has at hand. The dialogue is reproduced without a problem. Ambiance and atmospherics are rarely heard. The musical score is precise and sounds incredible throughout the film adding that extra tension when needed. The audio sounds very good and Sony did a fantastic job.

Unthinkable isn’t packed with many extras. For this particular release there is only one true supplement which is a Director’s commentary.

Director’s Commentary – The commentary was very informative. The director Gregor Jordan is engaging and gives a lot of background on the film from his reason for taking the script to his casting decisions. Pretty interesting stuff, especially when he mentions his discussions with people who were experienced in torture.

MovieIQ – Displays actor and crew information about the scene. What was especially cool was that you can go to http://bdlink.me and sync it up with the movie. You can see the MovieIQ information on your computer or ipod. I found this feature much more enjoyable that way. A good plus for movie fans.

The Blu-ray has standard features which, let’s be honest, is the last thing you think about when buying any movie. The reason to buy this disc is because the movie. It’s relevant, exciting, and just a good scary thriller. It’s a great combination of characters, with great dialogue and an A+ cast. This film is a must buy for any fans of suspense thrillers.

The screen captures are only a small representation of what the Blu-ray looks like and are not representative of Blu-ray’s true quality.