Movie Review: Unbreakable (2000)

It's a tough call to make whether The Sixth Sense, 1999 or Unbreakable (2000) is the better film. Both are so fascinating, great, strong, and good.. Unbreakable is a 2000 movie written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The movie follows a man named David Dunn (Bruce Willis) who is the only one left standing after a fatal train crash. Dunn is then contacted by a man named Elijah (Samuel L Jackson) who suffers from a condition which makes his bones break easily. Elijah forms a bond with David as he tries to convince Bruce's character that he is indestructible aka unbreakable. I've seen this movie twice and I thoroughly enjoyed this film. This is a very intelligent, very well acted, and entertaining as heck thriller that I dig to this day. The movie works so well because of how the story is shown. We could have had a superhero movie from this film director that showed a hero saving people in the act. That would have been a clear way to establish who everyone is. However, Bruce's character doesn't know that he has these superhuman abilities in this movie. Instead, he has to slowly convince himself that he is unbreakable and that's genius. As we discover who he is as a character, David Dunn is discovering who he is as a person. It's a movie about self - discovery and that never happens in superhero movies in this time in film. Most studios are focused on bringing in the most popular characters and technology. The constant anticipation of who will crossover into which part of the Marvel/DC universe is always present before a release of a comic book movie. Shyalaman has struck all the right notes with Unbreakable and I am publicly stating that directors of upcoming superhero movies should use this as the mold from which they will build their flick towards. It works perfectly as a superhero movie and even better as an entertaining flick. Looking back on this movie on repeat viewings, I cannot really name anything that I don't like about it. It has great performances from both of the leading actors, a great suspenseful twist (which I will not mention), and also is more than a movie. It elevates itself to a higher power about people and their inner, undiscovered strength. Three stars.