Unbreakable (2000)

Develop the important characters. Raise the 'What if...?' questions. Execute with heart. (Get great graphic novel artists, great actors, great script, great directing and great cinematography). After doing all of the above, you won't have to travel to another universe and watch the man of steel fighting the man in black for all eternity in order to see great superhero portraits.

When I think of my favorite filmmakers, M. Night Shyamalan doesn't even usually register. I know he's made some suspect flicks ever since his early successes in the late 90s/early 00s, with a recent re-juvenation with the highly acclaimed blockbuster Split and the pending Glass which feels like another surefire success. In between, he's definitely made some head-scratchers, although I kind of enjoyed The Visit more than I thought I would. While The Sixth Sense is probably considered his best film among most, I honestly was kind of bored by it and think it was a wee bit pretentious. I actually believe his best films (so far) are between Split and this one I'm reviewing UNBREAKABLE (2000). I'm not the biggest fan of either Bruce Willis or Samuel L. Jackson, but this might actually be arguably the best film that either of them have been in! Yeah, I know they were both in this popular flick called Pulp Fiction and have separately been in a lot of good stuff, but in terms of quality, the level of their acting, the naturalistic writing, atmosphere, and direction, this is probably the true best film either of them have done, in my opinion. And, to me, unlike the rather gimmicky Pulp Fiction which looks dated 20+ years later, Unbreakable looks like a flick that looks fresh even in 2018. Willis is superb as David Dunn, a depressed family man who is a native Philadelphian (film's setting, duh it's Shamalyan! LOL) and works as security at the city's football stadium. In the film's opening Dunn survives a train derailment that killed every passenger except him. Upon being released, David is reunited with his wife Audrey (strong performance by Robin Wright) and son Joseph (impressive work by Spencer Treat Clark). David was on a job interview in New York and planning to divorce Audrey, who he's lived in an estranged marriage for years. News of the tragedy piques the interest of another native Philadelphian Elijah Price (brilliantly played by Jackson). Price is a collector of classic comic books and owns a his own art gallery. Elijah was born with a rare disease where his bones are incredibly fragile and easy to fracture. He's suffered multiple bone breaks during his life and walks with a cane. Price contacts Dunn and theorizes that David is the opposite of him, a human with superpowers and encourages David to embrace his gift.The film is a provocative, interesting exploration into the possibility of a person actually having superhuman abilities and the pressure, strain, and responsibility that goes along with it. David was also an ex-football player whose career was ruined in a car accident many years earlier, so this new "gift" is like a second calling for him. Shyamalan occupies the film with a sequence of strong, character-driven scenes that build up exquisitely through dialogue and character. No explosions, no CGI, no car chases, just good old-fashioned conversation. The acting is uniformly excellent and in addition to the aforementioned Willis, Jackson, Wright, and Clark, solid work is done by Charlayne Woodard as Elijah's mother as well as by veteran Elizabeth Lawrence (of All My Children fame) in a spooky scene at Joseph's school.I definitely like this film more than Sixth Sense and it's probably on equal footing with Split for me. And with the pending Glass, looks like Shyamalan is back!

This movie should be released today. In the era of CGI superheroes with no story or character arc, this is a realistic view of superhero genere. Bruce Wills, I never thought I would say this, is awesome. Samuel Jackson is fantastic, I don't know why he chose to be one eye guy in Marvel movies, he is mire capable actor than this. Manoj Shayamalan is a truly great film maker. Robin Wright is very good. Overall a great superhero movie, a must watch.

I grew up with comic books, and my husband did not. After he saw this film, he told me that I had to see it. I admit that I did not know what I was watching- until the last 2 minutes. Then I was utterly gob smacked! have seen this movie dozens of times since, and I am still gob smacked that I did not see the totality of what this director was presenting to me. I found the "twist ending" in the "6th Sense" to be obvious from the beginning; "Unbreakable" is more of a twist movie.Watching it again this morning, I still wonder how I missed the many hints that were given to us by this director (upfront disclosure: I am a fan of all of his films), who makes his usual appearance in a scene with Our Hero, David Dunn, played by Bruce Willis. The everyday name of Our Hero; the name of his girlfriend/wife Audrey Inverso (played by Robin Wright), who does inverse the direction Our Hero could have taken in his life; Our Hero's new friend Eijah Price, aka Mr. Glass, played by Samuel Jackson, whom the movie mostly focuses on in the last 2 minutes; all of these are clues to the directors intent. I realize something new every time I watch "Unbreakable", and it is my favorite of Shyamalan's films.If you are a fan of the world created by comic books, please see this ! I love the Marvel Universe and the newest DC films, but this movie is a comic book world that could exist in our reality.