If You See It; Read the Book Afterwards

Rating: 6/10 (26 December 2014)

As most people probably know or have heard Unbroken is the true story of Louis Zamperini, the son of poor Italian Americans who grew up as a delinquent, was steered into competitive track and field, became an Olympic athlete, and whose life changed direction with the beginning of World War II (as it did to so many during the time). He joined the United States military, fought heroically for his country, survived being stranded on the ocean after a crash landing and then in a Japanese Prisoner of War Camp till the end of WWII.
The life of Louis Zamperini is incredible, but the movie failed to capture the whole story on so many levels. The main focus of the movie seemed to be on his suffering in PG-13 form. (I don't think that movies need to have excessive violence or filth, but what he actually when through was much more graphic and awful than the movie portrayed it to be.) It was very reminiscent of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ where all that was shown was the death of Jesus of Nazareth while his life was skipped over which is what made his death an important event. But even through Zamperini's suffering in the Japanese POW Camp for instance, it didn't at all show the comradery, brotherhood, or the love and friendship the prisoners had in their time of captivity. Was it a story of survival? Yes, but what was he surviving for? There is a distinct difference between surviving something and living through it. Louis Zamperini lived not survived. He lived his life to the fullest.
While Angelina Jolie will probably get most of the blame if this movie doesn't do well, I think what lacked the most was not direction, but was the writing. The book Unbroken (written by Laura Hillenbrand) was excellent. It was historically accurate, rich in detail and background information, but also gave the heartfelt story straight from the mouth of the real man himself. The writers of this movie had the best material to start from yet I think they only got a glimpse of Zamperini's life story. The very end gives a brief look of what his life became after the events that occurred in the film, but I think this should have been a major part of the plot.
Having read the book before-hand, my view of the movie is slightly skewed compared to those who have not, but here is my rating:
The book: 10/10
The movie in and of itself: 6.5/10
The movie compared to the book: 3/10