Is the New Unabomber Movie Worth Your Time?

The 2026 film Unabomber tells the story of Ted Kaczynski through two distinct timelines. One follows his time as a young prodigy at Harvard in 1958, while the other focuses on the FBI manhunt in 1995. While the movie aims to balance historical fact with dramatic flair, it struggles to make both sides of the story feel equally important.

The 1958 timeline is the clear highlight. Jacob Tremblay delivers a powerful performance as a young Kaczynski, showing how his experiences with disturbing psychological experiments helped shape his future. This section of the film feels grounded and genuinely interesting, effectively exploring how a brilliant student began his descent into violence.

Unfortunately, the 1995 storyline does not hold up as well. It relies on a fictional FBI agent named Joanne Miller, played by Shailene Woodley, to guide the investigation. Because this part of the film relies heavily on tired crime drama tropes, it feels like a generic procedural that distracts from the more compelling character study occurring in the past.

Ultimately, the film feels like two different movies glued together. The 1958 segments are strong enough to stand on their own, but the inclusion of the 1995 plot drags the quality down. If the filmmakers had committed fully to the story of Kaczynski's younger years, it could have been a much tighter and more impactful experience.