A Paen to the Genre

Rating: 10/10 (17 April 2007)

My initial viewing of this film had me feeling impatient. The pacing is leisurely and the feeling was exacerbated by my continued dislike for Willis's "if less is more, then doing nothing is best" approach to acting. But as the final scene developed and the movie came to a close I was filled with remembrance of the love I had as a child for super hero comicbooks. I have subsequently come to feel this is one of my favorite movies. It is obvious that both the director and the cinematographer know and love comicbooks and this film is nothing if not a loving paen to the genre. I own it and I watch it now and then just because I love the way it makes it way to the payoff. It is gratifying to read that others have noticed that almost all of the scenes have the quality of good comicbook panel artwork. The moment that stuck in my mind from the first viewing was when Dunn climbed out of the pool and knelt momentarily at the edge. The shot of the folds of his poncho and the water dripping off of it remain to me as the pivotal artistic (pure comicbook art) and emotional (fear conquered) moment. The payoff was one of the most gratifying I have experienced in my long movie going history. To realize that I had just witnessed the 'real world' birth of a superhero and supernemesis just floored me. The payoff of "The Sixth Sense" left me feeling like I was a fool for not seeing it coming but the "Unbreakable" payoff made me feel that I had just been manipulated by masters. Now. that being said, I do feel that those who never experienced the love of superhero comicbooks may not get the payoff and call this movie 'boring'.