An intriguing movie.

Rating: 8/10 (28 June 2001)

M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable is an intriguing movie in nearly every aspect. That is not to say that it is a good movie in every aspect.
My main problem with the film is that too often Shyamalan used "interesting" camera angles. Whether or not they added something to the film is arguable, but they were certainly distracting. One part that comes to mind is when an entire scene is viewed through the reflection off a TV. When watching the scene I was no longer paying attention to what the characters were saying. Instead I was just wondering why in the hell Shyamalan decided to use that shot. Anything that distracts a viewer from a film like that cannot be good.
The only other complaint I have with the movie is the lack of life in it. All the actors are directed to act troubled, however in doing so Bruce Willis comes across as disturbed. Since I cannot see inside the heads of the characters I am left feeling alienated as these characters deal with their issues inside their own minds. And yes, the movie is slowly paced. I never lost interest, but I can see how someone with a shorter attention span could do so very quickly with this movie. The plot was stretched out just a bit too much.
But perhaps I am being nit-picky. I enjoyed Unbreakable overall. It posed some interesting questions (are you taking the right path in life?; how many strange occurances can your mind dismiss?). As for the twist at the end, I did not see it coming, and I thought it finished the movie wonderfully.
And here comes the dreaded but inevitable comparisson to the Sixth Sense. Unbreakable was just too similar to Shyamalan's previous effort: both are slowly paced supernatural thrillers starring Bruce Willis with a thick, dark atmosphere and a huge swerve at the end. The only positive part of that is that Like the Sixth Sense, I did not see the twist at the end coming, which means I was able to think back about everything I saw in the movie and slap myself on the forehead shouting, "Doh, I'm an idiot!"
For that feeling alone (a rarity in today's film world) this movie is worth seeing. However I was hoping for a bit more after the fantastic Sixth Sense. I was hoping for something a little different.