Not "The Sixth Sense," but a fine, entertaining yarn.

Rating: 8/10 (22 November 2000)

"Unbreakable" will suffer from comparisons to M. Night Shamalayan's previous film, "The Sixth Sense," and those comparisons will be slightly unfair, because while the two movies look the same on the surface, they are different as well. This story of a normal guy (Bruce Willis) whose life is turned topsy-turvy when he survives a devastating train crash with nary a scratch on him is actually slightly lighter in tone that "The Sixth Sense," even in its darker moments. What "Unbreakable" is, in essence, is a solid yarn. When it gets to where it's going (what little has been given away in the excellent marketing of the movie happens in the first 10 minutes), you may roll your eyes a bit, but bear with it  it all comes together, right down to the now-expected Shamalayan twist. The young director is the best thing to happen to Willis as a film actor  he's done his best work in this film and last year's "Sixth Sense." And I think that Samuel L. Jackson, as the mysterious figure who opens Willis' eyes to his possibilities, does Oscar-caliber work here as well. You won't be able to fully put "Sixth Sense" out of your mind here, but try to appreciate "Unbreakable" on its own terms as a thriller that, if not a masterpiece, is very, very good.