Unhinged (2020_ This the second time, within the last seven days, that we've sat through a garbage movie with A-list stars.....(the other being the wretched "Ava"....)
At this point, we're sick of asking how any of them could demean themselves to appear in such worthless tripe. And who cares anyway?
So here we have have Russell Crowe playing a rampaging lunatic in a pickup truck who spends all day terrorizing an innocent woman driver cause she honked her horn at him while he daydreamed in front of a green light.
Presumably, Crowe was wistfully recalling the introduction of his character at the start of the film, hammering to death his ex wife and her new husband before burning their house down.
Now we're afraid this movie will start a toxic trend.....top-of-the-line actors slumming their way through low rent action-horror films.......
Imagine Al Pacino playing Jason, the "Friday the 13th" killer.......maybe Daniel Day Lewis could bring new found nuance to portray Michael Myers in a new "Halloween" update......prepare yourself for Meryl Streep, Denzel Washington, Michael Caine and Dame Judi Dench as the all new "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" family.......
Crowe's road rage, mad-as-hell-and-I'm-not-gonna-take-it-anymore psycho might have been effective if the film itself showed any trace of competence, intelligence or technical skill in its production..
Not a chance with the motley crew who put "Unhinged" together......the film reeks of stupidity, forcing its beleaguered heroine to deliberately make idiotic choices to make the carnage drag out for almost 90 interminable minutes. Most the time, the film exists in an alternative universe where nobody ever heard of calling 911......
Crowe, carrying the girth of an out-of-work shopping mall Santa Claus, does give the role his full commitment. He's like Michael Douglas's character in "Falling Down" combined with Arnold Schwarzenegger's relentless robot from the first 'Terminator' movie.
But to what purpose? The filmmakers here show their true intent during the main titles......they're only interested in the fast buck exploitation of a society eating itself alive with anger. They see the collapse of civility and morality as a great way to present fatal car crashes and brutal murders.
In that regard, Russell Crowe's mobile madman (referred to in the credits as "Man") may be the purist evocation of America today after four cancerous years of Trump, fueled by nothing but revenge, anger and delusions.
But we didn't think for a moment that the makers of 'Unhinged' were that perceptive......they just want your applause and shock when Crowe finally receives his penultimate coup de grace.....
We're only surprised they didn't show him rising up once more, a la Michael Myers, Jason and 'Nightmare On Elm Street's Freddy Kruger......or Godzilla. Therefore no "Unhinged 2", unless an all new loony takes up Crowe's crusade to wipe out anyone who pisses him off.....
Too bad Laurence Olivier isn't alive to do the sequel......
Zero stars. (0).
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