Unbreakable
November. 22,2000 PG-13An ordinary man makes an extraordinary discovery when a train accident leaves his fellow passengers dead — and him unscathed. The answer to this mystery could lie with the mysterious Elijah Price, a man who suffers from a disease that renders his bones as fragile as glass.
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Reviews
Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.
A Masterpiece!
Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.
Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.
Nowadays, ask the fans of M.Night Shyamalan's works about which films is his greatest and most of them will probably answer "Unbreakable", and I think they're right. This is actually a favorite of M.Night Shyamalan's out of all his work. Quentin Tarantino, one of my favorite director, also loves this film. I think that this film is very unappreciated by many critics. But first, the plot summary of the film. SUMMARY: David Dunn (played by Bruce Willis) is a security guard at an American football stadium in Philadelphia. He is also a man who searches a meaning for his own life. He thinks he hasn't been much of a father to this son and he is having a somewhat bitter relationship with his wife. One day, while returning to his home from New York City after his job interview, the Eastrail 177 (the train where David is in) derails which lead to a fatal crash of the train with no survivor except him who after the crash is left with no any signs of injury. After the news of the train accident went public, a comic-book art dealer named Elijah Price (played by Samuel L. Jackson), who has Type I osteogenesis imperfecta which render his bones very breakable, tracks him and tries to explain to him of why his body is "unbreakable" (hence the title). One of the great things about this film is that it doesn't rush in, it takes its time. This might not work for some other people but I think it makes the film great. Obviously, this film is a superhero origin film, that's why it was so ahead of its time because superhero films only started booming only at the late 2000's and early 2010's with the films such as Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy and MCU's Iron Man and Avengers. Bruce Willis did an amazing job as David Dunn because he feels so sad, somber and almost melancholic which is not something he usually play as. Samuel Jackson also did an amazing job as Elijah Price, a man who is stubborn and looks like a crazy person. Every actors and actresses in this film did a great job. But what I think is the best thing about this film is the twist at the ending. Now, spoiler alert if you have not yet watched the film because at this point in my critique, it will include some spoilers. You have been warned. This has one of the most amazing twist of all time and I think is a very underrated twist as most critics didn't like it. It's the fact that Elijah Price was responsible for some fatal accidents which no one survived including the Eastrail 177 crash. One thing that the film is already hinting is the color palette of this two characters. David Dunn has a green poncho for his job at the security, the walls of his house is green, his bed sheet is green, even the locker at his job is also green. Meanwhile, Elijah Price has purple walls, his clothing is purple. It doesn't affect the plot at all but Shyamalan use this as a way to hint us of what will happen. Another thing is that they don't always touch. David Dunn has the ability to know what is the crime act of the person who touches him (which Dunn always interpreted as instinct). This would makes sense because David Dunn is the perfect antithesis to Elijah Price. They're both weak to water but David Dunn is unbreakable and strong while Elijah Price is easily breakable and weak. There is a quote from Elijah's mother about the types of villains (that Elijah told her) which goes "But he says there's always two kinds. There's the soldier villain who fights the hero with his hands and there's the real threat, the brilliant and evil archenemy who fights the hero with his mind." This summarizes up the whole film, as well as shares the themes of "Split" and also sets up it's next sequel, "Glass" (which is yet to released by the time of this review). It's also an idea that comics uses, the villain creates the hero. Overall, I think this is a great film.
As much as I liked some of the cinematography (defo a strong point of the film) and Jackson's character and the twist at the end......I couldn't help think to myself 'How the hell has this guy (Willis) got to his mid 40's and not realised he's never been sick and has superhuman strength?'. Ridiculous that Jackson's character comes along to point this out! Also, Willis' character is so unlikeable that he would never be lucky enough to have his wife and son around. The story is so unrealistic and full of gaps that it left a bad taste in my mouth.Top marks for the style of the film, I quite enjoyed the pace (or lack of) of it, but Shylaman has not given the story and context enough thought. For me, that really ruins it as I feel like he is treating the audience like fools. Very frustrating!
Before Sam Rami's Spider-Man films helped bring back superheroes to the big screen, Director M. Night Shyamalan made a film that brought a realistic side to the beings known as superheroes and super villains. In a world where every cool superhero name ever thought of is copyrighted and Marvel and DC movies appear in theaters every year, Unbreakable is a breath of fresh air for superhero fans. We are introduced to Bruce Willis' character, security guard David Dunn, as he is taking a train home from a job interview in New York City. Immediately we are thrust into this parallel world as Dunn is the only survivor of a horrific train crash. As we learn more and more about Dunn's past, his lack of illness and injury, we are introduced to Samuel L. Jackson's character Elijah Price, a man suffering from Osteogensis, a genetic disorder that causes his bones to be as brittle as glass. Price attempts to convince Dunn that he is in fact the embodiment of superheroes from comics but Dunn ignores him until he puts himself through various tests and discovers that he is, in fact, a superhero. As we follow Willis' character, the actor does a great job of keeping him down-to-earth and relatable for the audience, helping to make the narrative is a whole believable. An interesting note I would like to make is the cinematography for this film is one of the more interesting aspects of it. Oscar-nominated DP Eduardo Serra takes some interesting liberties with his chosen shots, using reflections, upside down shots, and interesting back-and-forth conversation shots to drive home the point that this is not an ordinary world. One of M. Night Shyamalan's better films, the twist of Price, choosing to go by the name Mr. Glass, having caused the most recent big disasters in the city, including the train wreck, is somewhat televised early on in the film is somewhat predictable. This in turn causes the ending to fall somewhat flat and happens in a really fast, jarring way that leaves the audience wondering what just happened. Despite being slow in some areas and sporting a jarring ending, Unbreakable is a cinematic diamond-in-the-rough that helps to bring the idea of a superhero back down to earth and reminds us that we all might be superheroes in our own way.
This movie had great actors, interesting idea, and from that I thought that a movie would be great. But no, the writing is wrong, the scenes are boring and almost nothing happens the entire movie as the movie is just streched a long the way. I know it says that this is drama but seriously you had a great actors, great idea and you made almost nothing from this movie.