Unbeatable more like!

Rating: Null/10 (19 February 2001)

My brother and I both saw this film at the same time. Needless to say we were both highly impressed. Not surprisingly, listening to some audience comments on the way out, not everybody got it. This is simply because this is not your average 'wham, bam thank you maam' superhero flick. Unbreakable takes a refreshing and long overdue slant on the superhero film genre. It is reminiscent of the darker and more mature side of comics, for example, graphic novels such as "The Dark Night Returns", "Watchmen" and "Sin City" (to name but a few). The film is naturalistic in style which makes it so successful. The audience is left guessing, as are the characters, regarding to what and what not to believe. The aesthetics of the film are also particuarly pleasing. Beautifully shot, well acted and so on. Comments from a friend have suggested that the pacing was too slow. But then, this person also did not like 2001 for the same reason!! Pacing is part if its beauty. Again, the audience is left guessing and when we finally discover the truth we are hit with an altogether more impacting final act. Film is art!!! This is art.
Unbreakable is also packed with references to comics and other films. There is, of course, the brilliant flashback to the car crash. (This could be a spoiler so DON'T read on if you haven't seen this film!!) This scene is perhaps reminiscent to the opening act of the first Superman film. With David Dunn as a young college type ripping the door off to suitably heroic and arousing music. Perhaps it is simply a personal recognition of similar emotional responses which both films evoked. I would like to write more on this excellent film but I have a class to go to. Och well. I have seen the film twice now and am looking forward to seeing it again. Apparently, it was written as a trilogy. If so, I wait with baited breath and hope M. Night follows suit with a similar spectacularly clever film.