Unbreakable [DVD] [2000] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

This is a review of the 2008 All Region Blu-ray from Walt Disney Studios. The quality is very good, and the disc contains plenty of interesting extras.M Night Shyamalan is a genuine puzzle. He is the real deal, in that he writes, directs and produces his own films ~ no mean task. And over more than twenty years, he has provided us with plenty of genuinely original work, of which some has been really very good, and very thought provoking. With only his second film, ‘The Sixth Sense’(1999), which he made whilst still in his twenties, he created something seriously special, a film which manages to be both scary and sympathetic, and intensely emotional. His Sci-fi chiller, ‘Signs’(2002), is less good, but still effective, and ‘The Village’(2004) is both clever and handsome, as well as quite terrifying in places. Other more recent works, such as ‘The Happening’(2008) and Sci-Fi shocker (and I don’t mean in the scary film sense of the word ~ it is dire!) ‘After Earth’(2013) have been panned ~ rightly.Shyamalan seems to have had little difficulty in attracting stars to work on his projects. Bruce Willis is a revelation in ‘Sixth Sense’, showing an ability to work closely and sensitively with 11 year-old Haley Joel Osment that you could not predict from watching his muscular tough-guy roles, in the ‘Die Hard’ films for example. In this, Shyamalan’s third film, made in 2000, talented young actor Spencer Treat Clark, playing Willis’s son Joseph, is a couple of years older, but is no knowing teenager. Again, Willis is excellent as a warm, engaged and loving father, in a difficult situation. He also gives a persuasive performance as the deeply reluctant and slightly mystified object of Samuel L Jackson’s bizarre fixation. Jackson himself, in a more smoothly polished, less street-wise, role than his usual fare, is very good as the medically-challenged, single-minded, odd-ball.As with others of his early films, Shyamalan’s clever and novel idea behind his plot and script is both entertaining and thought-provoking. And he takes the idea and runs with it, very effectively. The story plays out largely in Philadelphia, and uses a familiar Shyamalan plot device of taking what appears a very normal, ordinary, setting, and adding an idea totally out of left field. The film begins with a very scary event, and there are other beautifully-created moments of tension throughout, together with some well-acted domestic scenes. Shyamalan is particularly adept at miniaturising big ideas and viewing them through a domestic lens ~ ‘Signs’ is a good example.And as ever, Shyamalan keeps us on our toes and guessing, right up to the very end. I am still unsure that I know what the conclusion really is, and that is good, because it makes you think. So, a thoroughly enjoyable, engrossing film, some very good performances, several really well-staged set pieces. Not Shyamalan’s best film, but a very good high 4(½) Stars.

This is a truly fantastic film. It’s a psychological thriller that presents the origin story of a superhero. All his life David Dunn (Bruce Willis) has been ‘gifted’. But he’s reluctantly suppressed his abilities, especially as his wife abhors the harms that can result from risky physical activity. And so David lives a quiet, normal life … feeling depressed and unfulfilled. Then one day he miraculously survives a horrific train crash. All other 131 passengers are killed, but he’s completely unharmed. This gets the attention of Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) who has been desperately searching for someone who is super-human. Elijah suffers from a rare genetic condition (brittle bone disease) that causes him to be extremely fragile. And Elijah believes that if there are some people who break easily, or who get sick often, then – at the opposite end of the spectrum – there might be a few people who can’t be injured and don’t get ill. The question is, is David unbreakable?This is a superbly made film, concerned with the search for purpose in life. David initially dismisses Elijah’s beliefs, yet then strives to become the hero, and to save people from harm. While Elijah, so desperate to find purpose in his own existence, has turned to terrorism – causing the deaths of hundreds … simply to find one man who couldn’t be harmed. Just as David has discovered his reason for being, so Elijah has found his – to be a villain. This movie is brilliantly directed by M. Night Shyamalan, and well-acted (especially by Willis). The musical score thoroughly enhances the dark and foreboding feelings expressed in the story, as the characters seek to understand themselves. And the use of comic books as a central motif, for exploring the complexities of good and evil - of how each requires the other - is excellently utilised.It’s strange to be presented a superhero origin story that literally ends just as the hero realises who and what he is. But by allowing the time, and giving the space, to focus on the slow emergence of the hero so we’re offered an in-depth narrative on the tragedy, torment and personal cost involved in accepting one’s destiny in selfless heroism. And this film succeeds in a way that few others do in presenting the hero as a real man, with emotions, heartache, and disbelief. This is a complex film, presenting what is for the most part a downbeat storyline; yet the final act is emotionally uplifting. From the moment David Dunn accepts his fate as a superhero, there is a sense of spiritual awakening: he is utterly focused on confronting evil, proving himself to be unbreakable. In this way, the film is one of the finest superhero movies ever made. Fortunately, the writer-director has now made a sequel,  Split (Blu-ray + Digital Download) [2017 ], which further develops the supernatural quality of the storyline. And the third instalment, “Glass”, is to be released in 2019.I highly recommend this movie. It’s a sophisticated piece of film-making, and one which elevates the superhero genre.

I remember watching this as a teenager and thinking it was awesome. Apparently what teenage me didn't notice at the time was how terrible the script was. It's a cool concept but the execution is laughably bad for the most part. In some ways this adds to the charm though, it's really not a particularly good piece of cinema but it's unintentionally funny enough that it's worth sitting through it to get to the excellent ending.