Unbreakable Movie Review

Unbreakable (2000)

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Written by: M. Night Shyamalan
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright, Eamonn Walker
Rated: PG-13
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Plot
A man learns something extraordinary about himself after a devastating accident.

Verdict
This is such a great hero origin story that manages to create great moments. This focuses on the regular man aspect of it and because of that it's grounded. This makes the protagonists ascension as a super hero moving and emotional. What really makes the story is the relationship between the hero and villain which results in a great conclusion. This does a great job with the hero and villain.
Watch it.

Review
This is the first movie in a super hero trilogy from Shyamalan that includes Split and Glass. The proceeding movies failed to capture what made Unbreakable so good. It was grounded, a believable true life super hero origin story. There's no aliens, radiation, or experiments. Dunn has super powers for no other reason than he just does. He doesn't even realize his uniqueness.

Bruce Willis plays David Dunn.

This has a great opening for David Dunn (Bruce Willis). Without any dialog we presume he's in a marriage on the rocks and then we get a hint that something is wrong with the train. The train derailed and Dunn is the only survivor and he doesn't have a scratch on him.

The movie has a morose, understated mood. That's from the directing to the color. Scenes are washed out and gray, but Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) is always connected to the color purple. Watching this multiple times, you pick up the perception tricks like Elijah Price shown in reflections. There are nods to comic book style in shot framing. There's an attention to detail in the movie characteristic of Shyamalan's early movies.

Samuel L. Jackson plays Elijah Price.

Jackson does a great job as Price, from his mannerisms to the tone of voice. What is Price's interest in Dunn? Price reasons if there is someone as fragile as he is, Dunn must be the counterpart, someone who's bones can't break.

Dunn approaches his power pragmatically where his son sees the fantasy side of it. That's part of the perception between a child and adult. Children easily embrace the fantastical where adults are skeptical. Dunn's relationship with his son is distant. His son just wants to spend time with him yet Dunn seems disinterested. That relationship builds to great moments like the bench press scene where they keep adding weight or when Dunn goes to the station to hone his sensory perception. Part of that is the scene and part of that is the directing. This is my favorite Shyamalan film for the story and for the craft. The music heightens these moments.

I like the end and how Price becomes a villain just because he wanted to find someone like himself. No doubt Price did horrible things, but they weren't rooted in malice. He wanted to find someone like him, he wanted a connection. He grew up having no friends. I don't condone Price's terrorism, but you can understand how he got to the point, and humanizing a villain is important in building the hero. Batman and the Joker are often characterized as similar and this movie makes a more direct connection between hero and villain.