Movies

14 Years Later, R-Rated Samuel L. Jackson Flop Blows Up Netflix's Top 10

14 Years Later, R-Rated Samuel L. Jackson Flop Blows Up Netflix's Top 10
Image credit: Netflix, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Who could have, uhm, thought!

When you think "Samuel L. Jackson, " you probably think of Quentin Tarantino hits like Pulp Fiction and The Hateful Eight or, well, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Maybe if you are a cinephile like Tarantino, you also remember a pretty obscure movie Jackson once starred in — the one that is currently dominating Netflix 's top 10 like nobody's business.

Mind you, the movie we're talking about was released 14 years ago, in 2010, and it's hardly a light watch. Titled Unthinkable, this Jackson hit takes us on a tough journey with an FBI special agent who is tasked to tackle a former Delta operator who planted nuclear bombs in three US cities.

Which Jackson's character, H, does. By torturing the man. Unthinkable it is!

Unthinkable on Netflix

Currently, the 2010 thriller sits on #6 in the US top movie chart on Netflix, and many people rediscover the overlooked Samuel L. Jackson gem thanks to its new triumph.

14 Years Later, R-Rated Samuel L. Jackson Flop Blows Up Netflix's Top 10 - image 1

Back when it was released, the movie went straight to DVD — mostly because of its controversial terrorism-related topic.

However, if you are already rushing to the platform to give it a watch, you have to know that Netflix's version has a surprise, and not all viewers genuinely enjoyed it.

Should You Watch Unthinkable?

"If you're one of the people watching Unthinkable on Netflix [...], know that you've been sacked. The original ending makes this movie 10x thought provoking," X user tsella noted.

We're not going to spoil neither of the endings for you in case you haven't seen the movie, but the mere fact that the finale was changed made many people furious.

"Who changes the end of a movie and doesn’t tell anyone. Like it should say “alternate ending” or something in the description before starting. Just watched the whole thing and feel like I wasted my time. What a fraud," Redditor cool-ember-resorts complained.

So maybe the best choice is to watch both versions and make up your own mind.

How Much Money Did Unthinkable Make?

People call Unthinkable grossly underrated for a reason — against an estimated budget of $15 million, the movie clearly flopped, collecting a frustrating $1.6 million internationally.

Naturally, its performance was heavily impacted by the straight-to-DVD release, and it's likely that the movie's Netflix Renaissance will help it get the praise it deserved.

14 Years Later, R-Rated Samuel L. Jackson Flop Blows Up Netflix's Top 10 - image 2

Interestingly enough, even though today's viewers seem to enjoy the thought-provoking movie, things were quite different back when it was about to release — to the point of calling it "laughably terrible-looking."

Today, the movie stands at a pretty reasonable 66% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and boasts a 7/10 score on IMDb. If you need to fill your evening (or 1 hour 37 minutes of it) with something meaningful, then this thriller is just right for you.

Just be careful not to watch with kids around — after all, Unthinkable has an R rating for a reason.

Source: Collider