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| Source: rec.art.movies.reviews newsgroup | | Rating: 4
| M. Night Shyamalan's UNBREAKABLE easily qualifies as the strangest, most subdued and most unconventional super-hero movie ever made. It will probably be considered something of a plot spoiler simply to make such a declaration, since Shyamalan and Touchstone Pictures have made such a concerted effort to build a mystery around what exactly UNBREAKABLE is about. But there you have it: It's a super-hero movie. A moody, character-driven super-hero movie. With no costumes or action figures. No explosions. And no crash-cut editing. It's a super-hero movie as directed by M. Night Shyamalan, the anti-Joel Shumacher.
This much you probably already know from trailers and commercials: Bruce Willis plays David Dunn, a Philadelphia security guard who is the only survivor of a catastrophic train wreck. Not only is he the only survivor, he emerges from the crash without a single scratch or broken bone. Ah, but there's more: Soon David is contacted by Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), an art dealer with a fascination for comic books and a congenital disease resulting in extremely fragile bones. Elijah believes that David may be something more than extremely lucky to have survived the train crash. David may be impervious to physical harm; he may be destined to use his physical gifts to protect others. In short, he may be a super-hero. David, of course, thinks Elijah is crazy ... until evidence begins building that he's not.
In many ways, UNBREAKABLE's story is the quintessential modern super-hero story. David is an Everyman Superman, reluctant to believe in his destiny; Elijah is the mentor who tries to convince him to harness his abilities. What Shyamalan does is wrap the archetypal mythology in psychology and family drama. We quickly discover that David is unhappily married to his wife Audrey (Robin Wright Penn), and has difficulty connecting with his son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark). He harbors long-suppressed unhappiness over the life he may have given up for his family, unhappiness Willis generally conveys through the raspy whisper he uses in his Serious Dramatic Actor mode. Willis, Jackson, Penn and Clark all play fully-developed characters, which makes UNBREAKABLE a rare enough film in that it's genuinely concerned not just with situations, but with people responding to situations.
And yet it's still indisputably, undeniably a super-hero movie, though unlike any super-hero movie you've ever seen before. Shyamalan's style is unusal for a director in any genre, one that favors long, unbroken takes over quick cuts and reversals. That style contributed greatly to the powerful aura of mystery in Shyamalan's THE SIXTH SENSE, and it contributes here to a sense of greater consequence than you'd expect from a tale of a super-powered man learning how to fight evil. The moment in which David and Joseph jointly discover David's unusual strength is played with a light sense of humor and a truly under-stated sense of awe; David's climactic encounter with a villain is shot in a way that makes heroic triumph surprisingly ugly. As visually gifted as Shyamalan is as a filmmaker -- perhaps even showy in his way -- UNBREAKABLE never lets a special effect or a camera trick take over this narrative.
UNBREAKABLE takes a couple of unfortunate wrong turns during its third act. One involves David's initial adversary, a fairly garden-variety nameless psycho. The other involves a late plot development that's not nearly as organic to the story as THE SIXTH SENSE's already-legendary twist. It feels almost obligatory, as though Shyamalan were under the impression that it's what the audience expects from him now. That seems an unlikely prospect, though, considering how blithely he goes about blowing up every expectation you've ever had about a super-hero movie. UNBREAKABLE is a compelling, fundamentally sound story that feels more and more daring until its late stumbles. It's too bad that the final moments are so weak, because it might leave viewers doubting its other impressive accomplishments. This is a film that emerges from its own internal conflicts ultimately triumphant -- just like a strange, subdued, unconventional super-hero movie should.
By : Scott Renshaw
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| | Source: rec.art.movies.reviews newsgroup | | Rating: 4
| Hmmm. Well, I absolutely loved "The Sixth Sense." In fact, I did back flips over that film. But M. Night Shyamalan's newest effort, "Unbreakable" failed to ignite that same enthusiasm.
This is still an interesting film complete with scenes to marvel over sharing screen time with the not-so-great moments. Generally speaking, too much time is spent in the set up and not enough on the punch.
I've said before of "The Sixth Sense" that I didn't need the ending kicker twist - I still would have loved that film. Not so of "Unbreakable" which titillates unevenly like glitter in a murky stream. The opening shot between seats is clever, but becomes tiresome. In fact, the whole first act could have used a shot in the arm. Willis, Penn and Woodward are strong, believable and likable. But, I've seen Jackson give better performances (though the actor playing the younger Jackson does a fine job).
I particularly enjoyed the meaty sequence just prior to the end; more of the like was needed as lead-ins to it. Perhaps they were written, but cut for time. Too bad, cuts in the first act would have made for a better film.
Overall, the finished product is lumpy - a way-cool idea that is no doubt way-difficult to translate to film. Shyamalan makes a respectable attempt in "Unbreakable," but lands shy of the excellence he'd achieved in his earlier work
By : Ross Anthony
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