Directed by:
Derrick BorteScreenplay:
Carl EllsworthCinematography:
Brendan GalvinComposer:
David BuckleyCast:
Russell Crowe, Caren Pistorius, Gabriel Bateman, Jimmi Simpson, Austin P. McKenzie, Stephen Louis Grush, Anne Leighton, Devyn A. Tyler, Sylvia Grace Crim (more)VOD (1)
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Russell Crowe stars in Unhinged, a psychological thriller that takes something we've all experienced--road rage--to an unpredictable and terrifying conclusion. Rachel (Caren Pistorius) is running late getting to work when she crosses paths with a stranger (Crowe) at a traffic light. Soon, Rachel finds herself and everyone she loves the target of a man who feels invisible and is looking to make one last mark upon the world by teaching her a series of deadly lessons. What follows is a dangerous game of cat and mouse that proves you never know who you're driving next to. (Nordisk Film Fin.)
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Unhinged surprisingly and slowly builds up into a slasher flick. However, it is needlessly overwrought and implausible with illogical nonsense. Crowe might have been suited for the role if we didn’t know him as an A-list character actor. Getting used to him and appreciating his performance as a deranged psychopathic rapist and murderer is practically impossible, which is also due to the one-dimensionality of his character without any explanation of the reasons for his behaviour. In the context of the genre, Unhinged is a completely unnecessary film that drowns out its brainlessness with brutish violence.
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A straightforwardly paced genre film that would like to stand alongside similarly focused cult films in the vein of Duel or The Hitcher, but it's too routine a see-it-and-forget-it B-movie for that. If it wasn't for the impressively disturbing Crowe, who pulls the whole thing off despite all the incongruities (and there are many) and the unlikeable clowns that the viewer is supposed to root for, it wouldn't even be worth paying attention to. PS: It is a pity that Hauer is no longer alive, there could have been a duet "how the Driver picks up the Hitchhiker".
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Gosh, all the fat Crowe jokes have all been picked over. As for the film itself, it's a scattershot compilation of themes revolving around behavior behind the wheel, the problems associated with communications technology, the obligatory turning from the victim into the hunter, and the changing times that leave some people behind. It's all terribly superficial though, as often the characters are punished pointlessly by the film (the woman painting her eyes in the car couldn't have prevented the fatal accident anyway), we don't really learn anything about the background of the antagonist who tries to capture attention for a while like a latter-day D-Fens, and the whole line about how easily we can be tracked through a communication device falls flat as no one is able to track down the villain, who makes no effort not to be tracked down, throughout his killing spree. Unfortunately, as a god-awful thriller, it doesn't really work either, as the film tries several times to convince us that John Goodman can sneak up on someone quietly from behind, no one in the convoy notices when another car repeatedly crashes into the car next to it, and it's also so poorly edited that at times it feels like the film is getting rid of some content at the last minute. And the car chases are cut in the same mode over and over again A (shot of the heroine's car), B (shot of the heroine in the car), C (shot of the antagonist's car), D (shot of the antagonist in the car).
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An offended fatty against the impolite world… To be perfectly honest from the very start, without Oscar-winner Russell Crowe, this film would be complete trash. With Russell, who sets men on fire, kicks women and strangles children, it’s quite entertaining. Because it’s not too long, the film flows easily and I spent most of the time thinking up different alternative plots that would be more original. And asking questions… Couldn’t the mom have been less nice? Couldn’t Borte film the car chases dynamically and play around a bit with paranoia? Why the heck did Russell agree to do this?
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Back in the cinema after a five month hiatus and Unhinged is a pleasant surprise. Unhinged is a decent road rage thriller with raging bull Russell Crowe having a bad day and his rage escalates to the max when confronted by the sassy Caren Pistorius, who learns a life lesson she will regret forever. Russell has put on weight, but he's an unbelievable asshole who uncompromisingly dispatches anyone who crosses him, and during his violent attacks, I worried if he'd bring down the house. The film is a decent adrenaline rush from start to finish, and it doesn’t take its foot off the gas for a moment. Russell plays the psychopath impeccably, commanding respect in every scene and the unexpectedly high bodycount is not far from double digits, plus it's very nicely R-rated, which is always a treat in the cinema. The story doesn't bring any twist or surprise and those who are nitpicky will find a few logical flaws, but I had a great time and exhaled at the end, and that's enough for me in this case at most. Story***, Action****, Humor>No, Violence****, Entertainment****, Music****, Visuals****, Atmosphere****, Suspense****. 8/10.
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