Which shows that true heroes are born, not made.

Rating: 8/10 (13 June 2008)

Years ago, I read a newspaper story about an elderly woman who lifted up the back of car to free her son trapped beneath: the jack had failed and the car was crushing him Somehow, she lifted that car, her feat defying belief. But that frail, old woman saved her son with strength she didn't know she had  until she needed it. Call it an adrenalin rush, call it what you will, but it happened.
So, desperate situations do bring about desperate measures by people who don't appear to have the strength or will to accomplish a seemingly impossible feat. Until they're forced into action...
At that level and that level alone, Unbreakable could have been a great movie, I think. But, because it skates on the edge of the paranormal, it loses some impact for me. Nevertheless, it's an excellent story, well acted and exquisitely directed by M. Night Shyamalan, famous for The Sixth Sense (1999).
Don't get me wrong, however: I'm open to the concept of the paranormal because I've experienced things that can't be explained by rational means or knowledge. You may have also.
This isn't the first film, however, to explore the idea of the super-man (let's put aside all comic book stuff, despite the heavy influence of comic books in Unbreakable): in 1968, a Frank M. Robinson novel, called The Power, was put to a film of the same name. It was heavily criticized, and yet it was a well produced rendition of an excellent sci-fi story: about an evil man with super, paranormal powers who stumbles upon a good man with identical powers. The ensuing battle for supremacy between the two made for great entertainment. And, as in Unbreakable, you don't know the identity of the evil man until close to the end. The key point with The Power, however, is that the good man didn't know he had the power  until he was tested to the point of death. And the twist at the end was irony at its best...
Unbreakable takes up that idea of the super-man, where David Dunn (Bruce Willis), through a complex series of connected events, finally comes to realize that he is much more than other mortals.
David is a security guard at a local university; but he used to be the brightest prospect in American football. Unhappily, he has a marriage that's all but dead: done in by years of sadness, discomfort, distrust and doubt. He is consumed with sadness, and not only because Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), a comic book aficionado and art gallery owner, tells him that the saddest people are those who don't know why they're on this earth...
Indeed, the happiest person is the one who knows his/her destiny, the reason for being. Hence slowly, but inexorably, David comes to the realization that his purpose on earth is to provide security for the oppressed, to help those who cannot help themselves, and to stop the path of evil, wherever and whenever. Thus emerges the closest yet to a modern-day superhero.
As you will see, it's an unwelcome realization for David, at first. But he finally grasps that he is the defender of good; moreover, he discovers he has the strength and power to do it. And, in the climactic confrontation with a diabolical home invader, David proves it  to himself and to others. That knowledge for David has a price, however: Good can only exist  can only make sense  when Evil exists as a co-partner. And, therein lies the greatest irony for poor David.
I loved this movie. It appeals to the heroic in all of us. It shows that evil can be countered effectively  and without the need for questionable vigilante exploits. Implicitly also, it suggests that the heroic is potentially within all of us, even the least because, given the right conditions, we could all be a 'frail, old woman' trying to save a son, a daughter or anybody from harm.
The cinematography and editing are excellent. Bruce Willis gives one of his best performances, I think, equal to or better than In Country (1989); Robin Wright Penn, as Audrey, is suitably distraught and uncertain as his doubting wife; Spencer Clark, as David's son, Joseph, is a standout and very professional young actor. And what more needs to be said about Samuel L. Jackson  only that he is one of the most powerful actors ever to grace the silver screen.
So, forget about any narrative holes you might see and the fact that the story moves very slowly. The tension and mystery mount inexorably, however. So, treat yourself and your family to a thoroughly enjoyable 106 minutes.