Unbreakable

Unbreakable
Starring Bruce Willis
Samuel L Jackson

General Overview
Unbreakable is one of my all time favourite films for several reasons. It is a perfectly executed film that leaves you wanting more and you can watch the film over and over and still glean something new from it. It is a slow film for its particular genre, but that is part of what makes it so terrific. It is a superhero film without the action, but rather the build-up to the discovery that David Dunn (Bruce Willis) is a superhero.

Acting
Bruce Willis portrays a security guard who works for a university who has just recently survived a devastating train crash. His life is in shambles and his marriage is in ruins, yet when this event occurs, his life starts to look up for a change. Bruce Willis is an all round terrific actor to begin with, being able to pull off almost any roll he plays, Unbreakable is no exception. He is a quiet character who simply wants to see good done to his family, who once had the chance to play pro football if it weren’t for a car accident in his early career. He is a very isolated character who feels his life is lacking something and when he is found out by Samuel L Jackson’s character, he starts to want to believe that he is in fact a superhero, but throughout the whole film, remains doubtful. I can not think of a better actor for this role, because Bruce Willis pulls it off perfectly. He says very few words in the film, but everything his character is about, is in his actions and behaviours. It takes a very talented actor to pull this off as many rely too much on saying words to get across particular emotions, whereas with this film, it is all in the subtle things.

Samuel L Jackson plays a character who was beaten by his own physical ailment, but learned to conquer it and make it his strength. His character leads Bruce Willis’ to believing that David Dunn is in fact a real life superhero for several reasons. This character is persistent and will stop at nothing to see that David Dunn does in fact become a superhero. He becomes a mentor to Dunn but also, interestingly enough, is disliked by Dunn and his family, because he is too nosey into the lives of the Dunn’s. Again, another fantastic actor was cast in this film helping to make this film such a treat to watch. There are many subtle things about the performance of Samuel L Jackson’s character that are very crucial to the end of the movie, however, they are executed so perfectly, that you never see it coming.

Cinematography
In my opinion, this is M. Night Shyamalan’s best piece. The camera becomes and extension of Shyamalan himself and each angle feels there as if it had a reason for being there. He also turns traditional shots into very engaging shots, making good use of mise en scene several times throughout the film. This film doesn’t really rely on CGI or anything, but rather how the film is shot. When it reaches the climax, the shots become very superhero like, with some shots that just make your heart leap because it looks like a superhero film, which is something that cannot be said for a show like Heroes.
The music to this film is both chilling and intriguing and suits it very well. The music helps tease the audience into wondering if David Dunn really is a superhero and the music helps the movie flow just as much as the camera angles and editing does. Having watched many superhero films and shows like Heroes where they tried to ask the question of “are there real superheroes?” Unbreakable is one of the few that pulled it off.

The Story
With a story this good, there is very little to say. Everything happens for a reason and everything happens in a particular order for a reason. This is one of the few films where so many little hints are dropped, but fly right past your head until the end when you realize everything was on purpose. As a viewer, you get so wrapped up in what’s happening, that when the film is over, you simply want to watch it again. This story had all the right elements, characters, character flaws, motivation, background. It is one of those stories that there are no real visible plot holes or anything that stands out like a sore thumb. It flows and it flows very, very well.

Conclusion
This is what Heroes tried to be and failed at. This movie is chilling, intriguing, fascinating and fun. It can make you believe that real superheroes could exist, despite knowing they don’t. It mingles fact and fiction and makes a terrific blend that makes for a truly amazing film. I would recommend this film to anyone who likes good movies, who may not even be superhero fans, cause chances are, you will be by the end! My only problem with this movie is that it is too short (running at one and a half hours) because I really would have liked to have seen more. But nonetheless, this film is one of those few films that you classify as a work of art and not just some film you watch with your buds for the sake of watching something. This movie needs to be savoured and watched over and over again.

10/10

I only have one bad thing to say about this wonderful movie.. It was too short.. The way it ended left a lot of people feeling that it lacked a decent ending, and set itself up for a sequel or something of the sort.

yeah, that was my one problem with it too. it does just leave you wanting much much more, though the twist at the end is pretty clever

I might see it actually because of this review.

You tend to have good taste in films.

it's a slow film action wise, but it's extremely good in my opinion. I think it ranks as one of my top five but I'm a sucker for superheroes, at least good ones

sounds ok