benefit of the doubt...

Rating: 5/10 (27 November 2000)

First the good news: beautifully shot, excellent performance by Jackson, good, although predictable, twist at the end, and wonderful setting (philly born and bred). Now the bad news: unnecessarily drawn out, impossible to keep straight face while the Elijah Price character expounds on the virtues of comic books, and incomplete character studies (did anyone give a hoot about lil' Joseph Dunn or his mom. I know I didn't). For you that were expecting a second Sixth Sense, shame on you. This was only the man's second film. How could you get any feeling about what Unbreakable would be like from his first? That's like determining the path of a straight line with only one point. Impossible. Once he has a couple more under his belt, then you can expect all you want. Anyway, I know he is just setting the stage for the film or films to follow this one so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt (sort of like Phantom Menace). For those planning to see Unbreakable, be prepared for a yawner. For the film snobs out there, stop thinking that artistic and entertaining are mutually exclusive concepts when it comes to film. An excellent film achieves both.