Unbelievable.

Rating: Null/10 (29 November 2000)

Unbelievable is the only word that I can describe the latest suspense-thriller from director M. Night Shyamalan. This film is Shyamalan's anticipated follow up to his 1999 surprise and excellent THE SIXTH SENSE, which is titled UNBREAKABLE. And all I can say about Shyamalan is that he is the Alfred Hitchcock of the 21st century.
UNBREAKABLE has Bruce Willis (who stared in Shyamalan's previous film) who plays David Dunn. David is a security guard who turns out to be the only survivor of a train wreck that kills over 100 people. But what baffles most people isn't that David isn't the only survivor, but that he didn't even have a scratch or scar on him. His son Jospeh (Spencer Treat Clark) is grateful that his dad is alive and wants to have more of a bonding relationship with him. While David's soon to be ex-wife, Audrey (Robin Wright Penn), sees this "miracle" as a second chance to start things over with her relationship with David. But Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) who is a person who is so cripple that his bones break very easily, might have the answer to why David survived the crash.... And to be a good sport, that is all I am going to say about this film. Like SIXTH SENSE, this film has plot twist and turns that make it exciting and enjoyable to watch. But if you're going in to expect another SIXTH SENSE, then you'll be disappointed. But if you expect to see another excellent film directed by the very gifted Shyamalan, then you'll be very pleased, which happened to me. When I see a Hitchcock film like TO CATCH A THIEF and NORTH BY NORTHWEST, I see them as two different movies made by the same director. If you think they are "follow-ups" then you'll hate NORTH BY NORTHWEST (god forbid!). That is how you should see UNBREAKABLE, a different film that has the same director and star as the previous film. I highly enjoyed this film. Shyamalan plays along with the audience with his amazing camera tricks and plot. I sat there amazed during one scene where Willis was talking with a female on the train. Shyamalan has the camera move back and forth between the two as if the audience were the eight year old girl watching them talk. And the plot, it keeps you guessing and guessing until the end of the film to what is really going on. Another thing I noticed about Shyamalan is that he IS a director for children. Like his underrated WIDE AWAKE, and his classic SIXTH SENSE, Shyamalan does a excellent viewpoint of the child's world in both movies. And in UNBREAKABLE he does it again with the world through David's son, Joseph. Joseph doesn't know on what to make of his father, being the only survivor of a disaster. And young Spence Treat Clark does a performance like Haley Joel Osment in SIXTH SENSE, excellent! If these children film stars were intelligent, they would work with Shyamalan, than any other typical family film director. Since it seems that Shyamalan is going to boost Clark's career. And not to forget the good performance by Robin Wright, who gives her best performance since FORREST GUMP. Like Jenny in GUMP, both character's have been through a lot of pain and suffering in the past, and try on what they can do to make life better. But the film belongs to both Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson. Both actors give outstanding performances as the leads, Willis acting great as a confused human, while Jackson playing the mysterous character. Now is UNBREAKABLE better than SIXTH SENSE? No. But is it good? Yes. How good is it? IT'S VERY GOOD! This is a film that will have the people who saw and loved Hitchcock back in the 40's and 50's excited to see a young director trying the same similar styles that the master of suspense did. As for the young viewers, I think they will be mixed. The people who are very serious and devoted to the cinema will love this film. Others, beware! But UNBREAKABLE is a great follow up to SIXTH SENSE, however I feel that this film will suffer the same way JACKIE BROWN and BIG LIBOWSKI suffered, "it's not as good as the previous film." Yea, but that doesn't mean that you should skip it. Go see this film, and don't expect much, that way you'll enjoy it more! *****(out of five)