fan boy movie makes sense

Rating: 8/10 (11 December 2000)

If you have thumbed through the three thousand reviews that came before mine, you already, no doubt, anticipate a short uninformed attack on the plot, character development, and speed of Unbreakable; something you've come to expect from the repetitive commentaries that refuse to acknowledge anything redeemable in the film and only succeed in becoming as droll and irritating as M Night Shyamalan's sophomore attempt is wrongly accused of being. Frankly, it is entertaining and stylish. And if Virgin Suicides (vomit) is not butchered for its lack of plot and dependence on mood/emotion for development, then for cryin out loud Unbreakable deserves (please forgive me) a break!
The plot is unbelievable you say? Well, duh! Men can't fly. Women can't use lassos of truth to induce confessions. Unbreakable is a synthesis of comic-book fantasy and dramatic film-making, it is not a testament to naturalistic empiricism. Go read a physics textbook if that suits you, but don't whine that a movie doesn't explain the origin of a hero's powers! To the best of my recollection, neither did sixth sense.
Unbreakable is a wonderful, mature rendition of a (yes) childish theme. Good guys? Bad guys? These are not things that fit into a post-modern world view. But that is PRECISELY why they make marvelous material for a deep, moody, character-dependent film. It is silly to think of these things (heroism, justice), it is downright ridiculous. And that is why Unbreakable succeeds in ways the sixth sense only hinted at, it taps into the real brutal nature of the modern world. There is no one to save the day, stop the bad guy. And, in reality, our private worlds (personal, professional, and physical) are as fragile and hopeless as Mr. Glass.