Unbreakable

A very weird play with our expectations. The film at first appears to be a mystery thriller with a protagonist who, like the viewer, is stumbling in the unknown trying to figure things out, only to gradually morph into an intimate take on the comic book tale of an enlightened and strangely gifted hero who has solved part of the mystery with the help of an outsider and now faces the historically determined and inevitable fate of searching for the ultimate villain. Formally and acting-wise everything is OK, precisely subordinated to the demands of Willis's character's changing motivational development, and specifically the cinematography and chilling music cried out for some kind of material appreciation at the time, but the story only really grabbed me fully in the last half hour or so, until then it had been flapping lightly in one place, relying solely on the unravelling of a few outlined motifs in the final dramatic phase. 75% (08/09/2011)

I just found the denouement a little rushed. Since the whole film slowly flows and very little really happens, I found the ending unnecessarily too violent. Considering how Unbreakable is shot and the high quality of its craftsmanship, the ending definitely deserved more space; here I think Shyamalan didn't quite pull it off in terms of the script. Otherwise, I have no complaints – the atmosphere, the music, the cinematography, the directing, the great Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, and Shyamalan's traditionally great cameo – there's nothing to fault. 85% (12/09/2009)

Shyamalan's originality cannot be denied, and in a certain sense, his creativity and inventiveness are evident in every one of his films. However, the story didn't feel as powerful to me as in The Sixth Sense, nor as dynamic and suspenseful as in Signs. (04/04/2005)

One of the least appreciated movies of the past decade which was ahead of its time in many ways. Don’t forget that when it was made, comic book movies were still not taken at all seriously and were like a hot potato in terms of financing and quality, and no big studios wanted to have anything to do with them. If you saw it once and quite liked it, try giving Unbreakable another chance. It’s much more sophisticated than it might seem at first sight. Perhaps you will be surprised by its profoundness; and even if you aren’t, you will at least learn why it’s a good idea to avoid physical contact with others. And I would advise David Dunn never to come visit the Czech Republic. He would most definitely lose his mind upon arrival at Prague Main Station. (21/11/2003)

Interesting idea, weaker processing. The Achilles' heel of the film is that it has no de facto supporting plot - it only works with the subtle transformation of an ordinary person into a hero. Oddly enough, it's not particularly boring, but towards the end of the film, I had a persistent feeling of "when will it finally start". More than the indestructible dad Willis, I liked Samuel L. Jackson's mysterious glass man. Through an interesting subject, Shyamalan didn't quite break into the film, but he got somewhere halfway. Still, I like this "hero myth" film more than The Sixth Sense. The less shocking it is, the more impressive it is. A pleasant spectacle that reflects both the phenomenon of comics and the phenomenon of father-son relationships, but it could not resist superficiality... (01/02/2004)