Rating: Summary: I didn't need six senses to know this was weak... Review: Sixth Sense: Fabulous movie. It was entertaining from the very first scene and it only got better, and the twist at the end, well that made it a classic. As for Unbreakable, Shyamalan decided to have another twist at the end, but this time, he forgot to make the rest of the movie. It was utterly forgettable and weak.
Rating: Summary: Brilliance! Shyamalan continues to shine! Review: M. Night Shyamalan struck a gold mine when his film "The Sixth Sense" was released in 1999, bringing in overwhelming audiences and garnering Oscar nominations including a nod for Best Picture. It is one of the films that will go down in history, not so much as a movie like, for instance, "Titanic," but still will be remembered. "Unbreakable," his follow-up feature to that success, didn't do as good as its predecessor, and upon watching it for the first time, I can't understand why. There are elements at work throughout its discourse that, under Shyamalan's brilliant direction, fit together in an intricate puzzle that comes to an earth-shattering halt with the film's ending. It's a brilliant and complex piece of filmmaking. Like "Sense," this film contains a mystery surrounding a central character, though this one isn't haunted by ghosts who need favors. "Unbreakable" begins with a horrific train accident, seen only through television footage and through the gauze of the last dying passenger as the sole survivor, David Dunn (Bruce Willis), looks on in a dazed silence. There is no scene of gory bloodshed, no sequence of special effects or derailing train cars... Shyamalan is able to prove that, through visceral images of victims' relatives and their expressions, the devastation of such an event can be just as effective without the use of a special effect. As the story continues, more pieces of David's life come into play: his marriage is suffering, he goes into deep depression, and that, added to questions he has about the fact that he suffered no injuries, not even so much as a single scratch, plague him each day. His work as a security guard seems like any other job to him, until he meets a man named Elijah (Samuel L. Jackson), who believes that comic book heroes walk the Earth. Elijah's life also has many complications: he suffers from a disease which causes his bones to break easily, ever since childbirth. His belief stems from his illness, that just as he is someone who is completely weak, there must be someone on the opposite end of the spectrum who is equally as strong. As he guides David through to the realization of his place in the world, a bigger revelation is at work, someone even as strong as David cannot withstand. In a slow, emotional process, Shyamalan brings out the best and worst of his characters. In taking his time with the story, he is able to allow David to evolve from a hardened, unbelieving survivor into someone forever changed by the realization that the he possesses can be put to good use. I'm not going to reveal just how he comes to that realization: that's for you to find out. But I will say this: it's sheer brilliance. The story structure for this film bears striking resemblance to "The Sixth Sense," but does not fail in keeping us intrigued. It begins by introducing the characters, and developing them in the midst of a very involving mystery. It then evolves into a story of realization and revelation, and just as in the previous film, there's a surprise twist ending, one that is more shocking and unexpected. Shyamalan made the right choice in bringing Bruce Willis back for this project; one could even go so far as to say that the part was written especially for him. Once again, Willis is able to define himself as a true actor, one that can go from the guns and bombs of "Die Hard" to the sentimentality of a man whose belief in everything is shaken in this film. Cast opposite him is Samuel L. Jackson as Elijah, who also proves he is just as effective in a wheelchair as he is on his feet. So why would this film not be as great a success as its predecessor? The answer may lie with the audience. "The Sixth Sense" drew many crowds of various types of people, the kind of people who generally don't see movies of this sort. "Unbreakable" is a much darker film, and I guess that was a turnoff for some people. But who cares? "Unbreakable" is everything you'd expect out of a movie and more. There's the same subtle suspense and rising intensity you'd expect from its director, the same magic, the same awe-inspiring brilliance. Everything fits together, it's dynamic, it's intriguing. There's not enough praise for a movie like this, one of the best films of 2000.
Rating: Summary: Top-notch take on comic-book heroes Review: Security guard David Dunn (Bruce Willis) survives a train-wreck that kills all the other passengers. Afterwards, he finds himself dogged by a brittle-boned stranger (Samuel L. Jackson), who claims that Dunn is a comic book superhero come to life. What follows next will cause Dunn to question his very place in the world. UNBREAKABLE is M. Night Shyamalan's follow-up to his classic, THE SIXTH SENSE, and it doesn't disappoint. Full of characterization and mood, Shyamalan and his cast weave an absorbing tale that provides a unique look in the world of superheroes. He doesn't talk down to his audience, while providing a suspenseful framework. Willis and Jackson are both solid in their roles. While the twist ending isn't that big a surprise, it caps things off nicely. The DVD extras are very good with 2 featurettes, including an examination of comic-books with Jackson and some of today's hottest comic-book artists and writers. There's also a multi-angle feature of one of the more pivotal scenes, as well as a VERY early film clip that Shyamalan did that seems to be put there just for laughs and to show that he doesn't take himself TOO seriously. While this film is not in the same league as THE SIXTH SENSE, UNBREAKABLE provides solid, suspenseful entertainment. Highly recommended.
Rating: Summary: wow, this movie fails to deliver Review: I thought 6th Sense was a masterpiece of plotting and suspense and so I looked very much forward to seeing this outing by the same writer/director. This is a slow, awkwardly paced film with poor dialogue, and leaden acting (think Bruce Willis in 13 Monkeys but without the enthusiasm ;-). It is, as has been written elsewhere here, also incomplete: it not just predicts a sequel, it demands it because the movie itself doesn't stand with its ending. I wish I had rented this.
Rating: Summary: "Life Doesn't Fit Into The Boxes That Were Drawn For It." Review: There are many things I have to say about this film. One is how ignorant filmgoers have become when a movie of this nature is continually looked down on. If you put this film in context with 1978's "Superman: The Movie", 1989's "Batman" and even 2000's "The X-Men" you immediately see that Shyamalan has written an ingeneous script dealing with a "superhero". Shyamalan avoids avoids the cliche of over-the-top special effects, funny costumes, masks, and most importantly, the superhero as loner theme that runs in comic books and their adaptations to the big screen. Here we have a hero who doesn't know he's a hero yet and neither does his family--except his son, who believes. The entire film plays on Samuel L. Jackson's "Mr. Glass" villain and Bruce Willis's "David" relationship with one another--like any good comic book does. Spiderman to Dr. Octopus or Green Goblin as Batman to The Joker, The Penguin or The Riddler. What is classic about this film is that Shyamalan didn't promote it upfront as a superhero film, and in fact, downplays it, letting his audience in on it bit by bit. If you don't like comic books this film won't do as much for you. Everything is steeped in the comic book genre right down to the opening statistics about comic books. The second thing about this film I have to say is about how it has been compared to "The Sixth Sense". Complaints about how the surprise ending wasn't nearly as surprising as "The Sixth Sense's" was...well did we really want a re-make of that film?? No. Besides, the ending is surprising, if you think about the ramifications and the fact that it will make you want to re-watch the film. In re-watching the film a second time, my girlfriend and I agreed that it was even better knowing what's going to happen and putting the pieces together--not unlike "The Sixth Sense". Lastly, you really have to appreciate comic books to appreciate "Unbreakable" fully. I bought comic books like "Spiderman", "Daredevil", "Captain America" and "The Incredible Hulk" growing up and enjoyed the television shows "Wonder Woman", "The Bionic Man" and "The Bionic Woman," and who could forget Bill Bixby as Dr. Bruce Banner in "The Incredible Hulk"? I even enjoyed "The Greatest American Hero". All of these things helped enjoy "Unbreakable" in a different light. Shyamalan has a great style to his films, not unlike Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Quentin Tarantino or Guy Ritchie, and, "The scariest thing is to not know your place in the world." So true. "Unbreakable" has its place firmly planted as a classic that 20 years from now will be like Hitchcock's much maligned "Vertigo". You can't please your audiences all the time, but with time an audience can change and grow.
Rating: Summary: 1 of the 10 worst films of all time Review: If you even see this movie whether it is just in the box or playing, do yourself a favor and run the other way as fast as you can. It is boring, I don't care if it is misunderstood or what it will just plain bore you to tears. It's an uninteresting twist on comic book super heroes, and what comic superhero can be so great if all it takes is a squirt gun to eliminate you.
Rating: Summary: One word. . . B - O - R - I - N - G!! Review: Don't be fooled by the "5 star" reviews like I was. It was truly a waste of ($), unless you have problems sleeping at night (then it would be a great sleeping pill). It took about 45mins for anything remotely interesting to happen, then after a VERY short period of interest, it became a sleeper again. I can't believe that the same director made "Sixth Sense", b/c the movies are nothing alike. Just a fair warning for those who read all of those good reviews. . .
Rating: Summary: Unbreakable - You'll never get those 2-hours back. Review: This movie is the first one that has made me write a review. It has a clever premise that works well up until the end. I won't ruin it for those of you who wish to waste 2-hours of your lives, but I really regret buying this waste of good plastic and cardboard. Once you watch it, you'll no doubt agree with me. I actually think Hudson Hawk has more appeal than this flop. And the ending - it's seems to me that the producers paid to film this thing and then after 105 minutes decided to end it really quickly and stupidly. This movie won't even qualify as classic trash years down the road.
Rating: Summary: The best movie I¿ve seen in a long time Review: This movie was superbly well done. It was well acted, directed, is captivating and original. Most importantly, it is imaginative and not at all what I was expecting it to be. Anyone telling you the basic premise of the movie before you've seen it is doing both you, and the movie, a great disservice. The surprise ending isn't that big a surprise, you can see it coming quite a ways off. It's more the movie itself that's the surprise. As I was not particularly impressed by The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable convinced me of M. Night Shyamalan's talents. This movie is not The Sixth Sense, nor is it a Die Hard. It is a slower, more deliberate movie lead by emotion with just the right mix of plot and character development. Its mix of one take scenes, creative camera angles, and unique sound effects also helps to give it a refreshing feel from the stale styles of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. This is a movie that makes you want to believe.
Rating: Summary: Unreal Review: This is not a movie for the average cineplex movie-goer. I saw this movie last night for the first time and I haven't stopped thinking about yet. The more I think about it, the more I like it. If you're expecting another "Sixth Sense," forget about it. This one went didn't get the rave reviews that "The Sixth Sense" got, but in my opinon it is better. It is the thinking-person's movie. The more you use your imagination, the more you'll like it. Buy it, or at least watch it. This one has to be seen. It's suspenseful, has good acting, cool camera angles and the story is so unique. Samuel L. Jackson's character "Elijah" is mesmerizing. Writer/director M. Night Shyamalan puts the art of story telling and creative plots back into movies. This one's a winner.
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