Film Review: Unbreakable

Strength is one of the resounding themes of superheroes; they protect the innocent lives around them because they are weaker, and it's their responsibility to use their superior strength for the greater good.  Superman, Spiderman, Captain America...they've all learned to use their powers for the good of humanity through various experiences.

Unbreakable is a unique movie that does this very same thing, only without superheroes per se.  It still draws strong parallels between the world of comic books and reality, building on the idea that everybody has varying levels of strength and weaknesses.  Most of this movie is about the main character discovering his strengths, and then figuring out what to do with it.  There's no real action to this, but the film maintains interest because it's laid out as a series of mysteries (first, the mystery of the protagonist's strengths, then the mystery of surrounding events).  The last act provides the most suspenseful and thrilling moments, but the film overall has a dark and emotional tone that makes it compelling throughout.  I almost can't help but to relate to these characters, thanks to all these aspects, and thanks to the quality acting and writing.

The story for this is what's most incredible though.  Even though it takes its time to get anywhere, it's layered on quite cleverly, slowly revealing the ideas and aspects until the fundamental core is exposed.  There is a big reveal at the film's end (customary to M. Night Shyamalan's earlier work, of course), which brilliantly puts the story and characters into a refreshing and smart context.  This is also a story that feels very creditable and realistic, thanks to its delivery.  Above all, the characters are very delicately and thoroughly well-developed.

This film uses very good photography and editing.  Acting is strong:  Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson both deliver very somber and understated performances, which accentuate the mood of the whole film.  Writing is good; M. Night Shyamalan's scripts aren't always gold, but with this film, he manages to find the perfect balance between exposition, characterization, plot-building, and everything else.  This production uses fairly spartan sets, props, and costumes.  The music score is really cool too.

Unbreakable is a smart, moody, powerful thriller.  Recommended!

4.5/5 (Entertainment:  Good | Story:  Perfect | Film:  Very Good)