Russ Hog When I saw this film I was blown away. A beautiful origin story about a hero who unveils his destiny, and the super villain who comes to terms with the pain in his life. A real life superhero universe where the powers are rooted but at the same time exceptional. The final battle where the hero confronts a masked nemesis and is one of the best battles / rescues in superhero cinema. Also, the cast is perfect and somehow Sam Jackson and Bruce Willis transcend their normal personas on screen to leap into these characters.

hnt_dnl 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!

anselmdaniel This review contains spoilers.Unbreakable is directed by M. Night Shyamalan and stars Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson. Unbreakable follows David Dunn, played by Bruce Willis, who discovers something about himself after a disaster. Along the way, a comic book collector played by Samuel L. Jackson advises David Dunn.Unbreakable had a poor marketing campaign. This movie had trailers that rode on M. Nigh Shyamalan's previous movie, The Sixth Sense's tone and theme. This movie is not anything like what the trailers may suggest. Unbreakable is not a psychological thriller like The Sixth Sense. Instead Unbreakable is actually a classic hero story told with a twist. The movie is actually a superhero origin story. The movie presents the hero as unaware of his own superpowers until Elijah Price advises him.Unbreakable presents a character that the audience can follow and care about. David Dunn is a great character and Elijah Price plays an excellent foil. Bruce Willis has natural charisma in the role, and is believable in trying to discover his abilities. Samuel L. Jackson has a mysterious presence and he brings out emotions that the audience may not expect.This movie does have some problems. Some of its directing is bland and it overuses flashbacks and subtitles. An example of this is its epilogue where the story continues in text, even when the plot had already reached an appropriate conclusion. There is sadly not a good way to tell the origin story of this movie without the flashbacks without sacrificing its own plot and character motivations.I recommend Unbreakable. Even watching it in the 2010s, the movie does not have common patterns found in typical superhero origin stories such as the Marvel movies. This is an original movie with a great twist.

Pjtaylor-96-138044 'Unbreakable (2000)' feels especially apt and refreshing now that the superhero genre has been so over-saturated and has been accused by many as having started to 'run out of steam', but this feature actually arrived at a time when comic-book films were still finding their footing and so the fact that it cleverly subverted and provided a commentary on their tropes and themes is almost genius. The feature is a remarkably entertaining and wonderfully enigmatic one, a thriller that maintains an assured pace and builds a genuine emotional connection to all of its incredibly realistic characters so that we genuinely care about each and every one of them, which means that you're never quite sure exactly where it is going to go. Each movement of the plot feels incredibly natural, though, bolstered by phenomenal performances and an incredible script. The movie's overall effect is an incredibly powerful one. 8/10