Had potential but didn't deliver

Rating: Null/10 (9 December 2000)

I went to this film with great expectations, especially after seeing Sixth Sense twice and loving the emotion and plot and of course the all talked about twist at the end! Unfortunately Shymalan's "Unbreakable" fell short of the mark, I feel people like myself went to see the film, for two reasons 1)clever plot with deep emotion 2) wonderful payoff and this film simply didn't deliver either! Granted there was some emotion in the acting but it was misguided the viewer didn't really know what he was getting so emotional about, for some reason the writer/director didn't want to repeat an already successful formula, but movies still need some kind of pay-off otherwise the viewer feels short changed, especially when the film is so painfully slow and hinting at this awe inspiring revelation (as with Sixth Sense) that just doesn't happen, very frustrating indeed. On a brighter note the cinematography was very well directed, Jackson put in his usual enigmatic performance, and Penn showed promise, and Willis once again showed us his sensitive side (A little too whimpy for this reviewer's liking) but he had no real chance with such a weak story, to fully explore his character's full potential. Overall this film had the potential to be very hot and because of average scripting and no closure it has ended up being luke warm. The plot and writing are crucial in films like this, I hate to say it but Sixth Sense will be Shyamalan's one hit wonder unless he improves his writing or maybe explores the possibilities of employing some outside talent in the writing department and thus allowing him to utilize his strongest attribute "Directing".