A different kind of superhero film.

Rating: 9/10 (18 June 2016)

The first time I saw Unbreakable, I desperately wanted it to finish with Bruce Willis's character drowning in the swimming pool, his first attempt at being a true hero also being his last: it would have been exactly the kind of dark, ironic twist that I like. Having just watched the film again, I'm now more comfortable with M. Night Shyamalan's chosen ending: it's just as perverse, with it's pitiful villain Elijah—clearly insane—having killed hundreds, if not thousands of people simply to validate his own existence. Now that's dark!
While not quite as brilliant as M. Night Shyamalan's previous film The Sixth Sense—the pacing is perhaps a little too slow at times to make for the perfect experience—Unbreakable is still extremely compelling, telling the tale of a seemingly ordinary man, David Dunn (Willis), who has lived his life with a nagging sense of dissatisfaction, but who gradually comes to realise that he possesses extraordinary powers and finally answers his true calling. Instead of going down the corny comic-book route of having its hero sporting a spandex uniform to patrol the city streets, Unbreakable tackles the subject with a sense of realism, and is all the more riveting for it.
Star Willis puts in yet another very credible performance under Shyamalan's impeccable direction; together the pair have made what must be one of the most intriguing and innovative superhero films ever made—and without the aid of any (discernible) expensive special effects.