Brilliant and steady camera work produces an eerie ambiance that keeps audiences hooked. But for what? It all relies too heavily on a payoff that derails before its time.
Unbreakable (2000)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:154
Fresh:104
Rotten:50
Average Rating:6.2/10
Consensus: With a weaker ending, Unbreakable is not as a good as The Sixth Sense. However, it is a quietly suspenseful film that intrigues and engages, taking the audience through unpredictable twists and turns along the way.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] mature thematic elements including some disturbing violent content, and for a crude sexual reference
Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Nov 22, 2000 Wide
Box Office: $92,914,916
Synopsis: UNBREAKABLE stars Bruce Willis as David Dunne, a Philadelphia security guard and the sole survivor of a disasterous train wreck. Not only is David still alive after the crash--he's completely... UNBREAKABLE stars Bruce Willis as David Dunne, a Philadelphia security guard and the sole survivor of a disasterous train wreck. Not only is David still alive after the crash--he's completely unharmed. After this miraculous incident, he's contacted by the mysterious Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), a dealer of comic book art who seems to have the opposite physicality--his bones tend to snap like twigs. As Elijah attempts to help the reluctant hero realize his superhuman potential, David tries to make amends with his estranged wife (Robin Wright Penn) and son (Spencer Treat Clark). Following the runaway success of THE SIXTH SENSE, writer-director M. Night Shyamalan once again teams up with Willis for another bleak supernatural tale with a surprising finale. Although Willis and Jackson are excellent in their roles, the highlights of the film are Eduardo Serra's cinematography and Shyamalan's direction, which are eerily atmospheric and inventive--in certain sequences, for example, entire scenes are shot as reflections on glass. UNBREAKABLE is a superhero film at heart, but Shyamalan's somber aesthetic transforms it into something far more intriguing. [More]
Starring: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright Penn, Spencer Treat Clark
Starring: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright Penn, Spencer Treat Clark, Charlayne Woodard
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Producer: Barry Mendel, Sam Mercer, M. Night Shyamalan
Composer: James Newton Howard
Studio: Buena Vista Pictures
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Reviews for Unbreakable
Credibility is all but thrown out the window once Bruce Willis dons a cape-like outfit and starts running around like Superman.
Shyamalan once again shows himself to be an amazing director; but the script for Unbreakable simply doesn’t have the complex emotional layers of his last effort.
Sophistic morality disguised as pretentious comic-book entertainment.
M. Night Shyamalan’s films are so different from the rest of the multiplex population that it surprises me that contemporary, supposedly impatient audiences would sit still for them.
Whereas The Sixth Sense was merely an OK movie with a great ending, Unbreakable is more.
What buffers the fantastical elements and makes the characters worth an emotional investment is Shyamalan's commitment to the small elements of family life and relationships.
Polished but rarely compelling, Unbreakable is ultimately disappointing.
Takes so much time and effort to unravel the complex premise that the picture never takes off.
It is especially delightful for those who like puzzlers and think they can gather enough clues to take a stab at guessing the outcome.
Whatever your final verdict, you could do worse than enjoy one of the most fertile minds in Hollywood.
In its own, weird way it resonates, even after a story that some will see as silly and an ending that teeters on gimmicky.
Any movie that asks audiences to think about more than where they parked is a good thing.
A mostly spellbinding drama that may not be the spectacular achievement of Shyamalan's last film, but why does it or should it have to be?
Latest News for Unbreakable
September 19, 2008:
Shyamalan Ponders Unbreakable Sequel ![]()
Samuel L. Jackson is game, and M. Night Shyamalan sounds like he's interested -- are we witnessing the birth of an "Unbreakable" sequel? More...
March 30, 2007:
Mark Wahlberg to Star in Shyamalan's "Happening"
Retired rapper and underwear model Mark Wahlberg's cinematic hot streak looks set to continue at least into next year: According to Variety, the "Shooter" and... More...
March 08, 2007:
New M. Night Shyamalan Flick is "Happening"
We'd heard that M. Night Shyamalan was going to do either "Avatar: The Last Airbender" or (yes) "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" as his next project,... More...
January 03, 2007:
Kevin Smith Fulfills His Bruce Willis Dream, Appears in "Die Hard 4"
If you're MySpace friends with "Clerks" man Kevin Smith, you already know that the uber fanboy is a ginormous Bruce Willis fan (OMG he's online now!)...and now, the... More...
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