The reviews for Unhinged have been out for a while and the majority of them have been really solid. So, I finally had the chance to rent it and I have to agree: it is pretty damn good.
Is it as brutal as what people say it is? well, that would all depend on how you would define “brutal”. For me, it wasn’t at all but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy it – Unhinged is our modern-day Falling Down.
What’s It About?
Unhinged is primarily about two people having a very shit day. Russell Crowe is seen at the start of the movie attacking two people then torching the house. We don’t know who these people are but the one thing we do know is that Russell Crowe looks like a man on the verge of a severely dangerous psychotic breakdown. And guess what?…the credits haven’t even started to roll yet.
We then meet a struggling mother who awakens to find out some horrible legal news. On her way to school to drop off her kid, she ends up caught in traffic, her day just can’t get any worse…nope, that’s a lie. It is about to get a hell of a lot worse. She aggressively beeps at a pick-up truck that stalled when the lights turned green. That was her first mistake. The pick-up then drives up beside her and an angry Russell Crowe rolls down the window asks for an apology. She refuses. That was her second mistake. There and then, whatever little thread of sanity Russell Crowe had left melts away leaving nothing but rage and resentment. He then makes it his life purpose to destroy hers.
Unhinged reminded me so much of Falling Down. We have a similar premise where a seemingly normal man snaps and goes to war with the modern world. Only in Unhinged, the anger is targeted at a specific person but in true action movie fashion: a lot of people get caught in the crosshairs.
It was a hugely entertaining mainstream flick. Is it realistic? absolutely not but it is worth it to see Russell Crowe stomp about like an angry John Goodman. Everything else, turn off your mind and enjoy.
As always, thanks for reading.
Article by GG
Founder/Owner/BigCheese @ Moviehooker
