A forgotten thriller movie starring Samuel L. Jackson is climbing the Netflix Top 10 chart, proving once again that box office flops can enjoy a new life on streaming.
We’ve seen this situation happen time and again – movies that were critically panned or commercial failures drawing in thousands of viewers after dropping on Netflix. Often, they have one thing in common: a big name leading the cast.
Just look at the streamer’s most-watched movies in recent months: American Assassin, Dylan O’Brien’s “traumatizing” flop, secured first place for a week; a ‘Rotten’ Liam Neeson drama raced up the ranking; and Angelina Jolie and Taylor Sheridan thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead hit number two.
Now, a similar situation is unfolding with a movie starring the one and only Samuel L. Jackson – and Netflix viewers think it’s well worth your time.
Forgotten Samuel L. Jackson movie climbs the Netflix chart
Unthinkable, a 2010 thriller movie starring Samuel L. Jackson, has made it to number five in the Netflix Top 10 chart. Check out the full list as it currently stands below:
- Damsel
- Noah
- The Super Mario Bros Movie
- Turbo
- Unthinkable
- Fear
- Alone
- Fun with Dick and Jane
- Spaceman
- Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
Directed by Gregor Jordan, the synopsis for Unthinkable reads: “When a nuclear expert-turned-extremist (Micheal Sheen) plants devices in three separate cities, the country’s counter-terrorism force springs into action and captures him. But the location of his bombs remains a mystery.
“With time running out, FBI agent Helen Brody (Carrie-Anne Moss) agrees to work alongside a mysterious interrogator known only as ‘H’ (Jackson), whose ruthless methods get results. But a power struggle develops between Brody, ‘H’ and the terrorist, and what happens next is unbelievable and, ultimately, Unthinkable!”
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The movie features an alternate ending in the extended version, which we won’t spoil here in case you haven’t had a chance to tune in yet. As for its performance, according to Box Office Mojo, it drew in just $1.6 million at the international box office, against an estimated budget of $15 million.
But there’s a couple of reasons for this – firstly, the film went straight to DVD in the US after no domestic distributor was secured. Secondly, a screening copy was leaked online, leading to many illegal downloads. While there’s no critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, it has an audience rating of 66%.
Regardless of its previous results, Netflix viewers have loved Unthinkable since it landed on the streamer. “Just randomly watched Unthinkable on Netflix. Hadn’t ever seen it. It’s refreshing to watch a 1.5 hour suspense thriller without any of the tropes but still satisfies. Definitely suggest a watch,” wrote one on X.
“If you need a great movie check out Unthinkable on Netflix. This my favorite joint,” said another, while a third added, “Unthinkable is on Netflix! Due to terrorism around the same time this was coming out, they chose to send this movie straight to DVD. This might be @SamuelLJackson’s most underrated movie!”
Unthinkable is available to stream on Netflix now – if you’re looking for something fresh to watch, check out all the new movies heading to streaming this month, as well as TV shows releasing in March.