Lacks Heart!

Rating: 6/10 (27 December 2014)

I want to be as fair as possible in this review and not judge the movie by the book it is based on. Let me start by saying that if you are planning to watch it, then just go watch it and read my review afterwards, that is, if you really want to. I thought the acting was superb and the overall cinematography was well done. I give it 5 stars on both accounts. There was a lot of breath taking scenery. There were however, some noticeable costume/makeup variations in regard to facial hair, starvation, etc, I have to say, it was a bit distracting. The biggest disappointment was the actual story. I also felt that the directing lacked the endearing qualities that draw the viewer into the characters' lives.
SPOILER ALERT A lot has been said about how the film cuts off the end of the story. Of course there is a tag line at the end which credits Louis' "faith" for helping him overcome PTSD. But, from more of a film critic's perspective, the film lacks the solid climactic ending that the audience deserves. Angelina Jolie highlights the suffering and brutality of WW II, the airplane crash, being lost at sea, prison camp, and torture, building up intense emotions, offering all the tension that creates a truly great story with a terrific climax, but it fails to satisfy. Ending with Louis simply coming home, seems to treat his story more like a bio than the great epic story that it really is. They could have done a whole detailed subscript, explaining his ordeal along with his Christian conversion, but that wouldn't have been enough to satisfy the tension that the film brings to bear on its audience. In short, the film lacks heart! It's the difference between watching The History Channel vs. "It's a Wonderful Life." END SPOILER ALERT
I'm not sure exactly what happened with Jolie and the screen writers here, obviously they read the book and was inspired by the story. I guess they just didn't know quite what to do with the ending. Maybe they didn't want people to think they were religious fanatics. Yes, the movie was already long, but there is still a whole lot to be desired of it. In short, THEY COULD HAVE DONE BETTER!
One last final word, Unbroken is definitely NOT a movie for children. If you know anything about the story, you should know why. Besides the language and brutality, there is also a scene of two nude prisoners being humiliated as water was thrown on them. There was nothing anti-Christian in the movie, except for the things taken in context (i.e. the brutality of Japanese prison guards).