When Unlocked played in the cinemas earlier this year, I was curious about this action film with Noomi Rapace in the lead, but not enough to make the trip. Now that the title is available through VOD it was a nice moment to see it. Should I have watched it on the big screen?
Alice Racine (Noomi Rapace) is a specialist when it comes to cross-examination. After she failed to prevent a terrorist attack in Paris, it has been something she continues to struggle with and she is no longer active as an agent. Yet she keeps in touch with the secret service in London and when there is a threat of a biological attack and experts are not immediately available, she is more or less forced to help and question a suspect. That does not go completely according to plan and Alice is forced to not be found and try to find information with which she not only can prevent the attack, but can also guarantee her own safety.
With an impressive cast (apart from Rapace, Orlando Bloom, Toni Collette, John Malkovich and Michael Douglas) and a great set up the film initially is a nice action film in which Alice has to use all the knowledge she has to be able to survive. This results in a lot of tension and an unpredictable direction. As the film progresses, however, the quality slowly goes down and the story becomes even more unbelievable by the minute, including bad guys who are close to twirling their mustache. An initially fascinating film that ultimately disappoints. I have no regrets that I have not seen this title in the cinema.
