Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Unchained’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the motion picture, ‘Unchained’.

While television and film have made some serious progress in regard to portraying women on screen in a more positive and earnest and equal manner, we can never forget the fact that for a long time… women were seen in a vastly different light in tinsel town. For there are so many movies and shows from yesterday, where women are portrayed in a supremely negative fashion. In fact, it used to be so incredibly rampant, that a strange exploitative sub-genre of films that were focused upon women popped up in theaters in the 70s and 80s and these movies were perhaps the lowest point of how women were portrayed on the silver screen.
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For the ‘Women in Prison’ sub-genre simply subjected women to horrible scenarios, the kind that really did feel gratuitously twisted since they placed their characters in extended and wild scenarios that put them through utter hell both mentally and physically. Why exactly this was deemed a good idea, we may never know, but these movies were so out there and so uncomfortable that in more recent years, there are directors and actors that have tried to wipe away their unfortunate memory by putting forth movies where badass trapped women… fight their way out of their respective situations in an empowering and kickass manner. And it just so happens that a brand-new movie in that vein, that also works to offer up a little social commentary, hit the digital market this week in Unchained.

Now in this particular film, we are introduced to a woman named Aella who is going through quite the rough patch in her life. For the bills are piling up and the right jobs are nowhere to be found and well, just when it seems her life cannot get any worse, fate finds a way to prove to her that it can. For she is so desperate to believe in something and find a way forward that she accepts a strange invitation to star in a major motion picture. A move that turns out to be quite costly since the invitation was designed to help her to lower her guard so she can be easily knocked out and kidnapped, and when she awakens from her forced slumber… Aella quickly comes to discover that she has unwillingly been selected to participate in an underground fighting organization. One complete with individuals that will kill her if she doesn’t comply and now, she must dig deep and fight hard in every sense of the phrase, to escape this maddening world.

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Which is at first glance, a plot that quite frankly… doesn’t seem all that progressive and in all honestly, a fair chunk of the film, really is something of an homage to those old ‘Women in Prison’ films. Since the colorful and weird characters that are keeping Aella and her new companions hostage, are straight out of those old films and they are eager to punish her physically and find great joy in doing so. But thankfully, rather than stick in the past, eventually this movie starts to move the plot forward in a more positive manner by having Aella actually fight back in all the right ways and that leads to some satisfying moments for certain, the kind that have you cheering and rooting for Aella and her friends when they finally take the fight to these unsettling jerks. 
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Plus, there was mention of the fact that this movie has a little commentary on our modern world present within its framework and we would be foolish to not talk about that as well. Because it does do a fine job of pointing out some of the toxic and exploitative behavior that men in power tend to exert upon women, in the hopes of giving all of us something to recognize in public so we can perhaps… say something on the matter. Also, the movie does have a lot to say about how the rich are viewed in America, by way of the behavior that the rich jerks in control of this fight club exhibit. Since they more or less view Aella and her fellow inmates as nothing more than products and pawns. Which is a particular plot twist that hammers home the fact that so many Americans view the rich as out of touch with the rest of the world and truly see it in a different light.

But while those are some fascinating points for certain and while Aella’s plight pays off in the end, this reviewer has yet to answer the million-dollar question… is this a solid/watchable movie?  Well, the answer to that question is yes. Because there are some great fight scenes present in this, and it does offer up a mostly positive portrayal of women and it is that latter point that does hold this movie back a bit, unfortunately. Simply because, it could have left the WIP homage out of the mix and it wouldn’t have hurt to have a woman take a pass at the script and the story and that’s important to speak to, because those elements will be off putting for some. But if you can overlook those mistakes and if you’re looking for an intense movie, one that features some satisfying beatdowns of scuzzy guys, then take a moment and give Unchained a look.

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