Unbreakable (Revisited)

It's strange to see people excited about a M. Night Shyamalan movie again. For over a decade Shyamalan was a punching bag for film media due to his over-reliance on twists, his big-budget failures, and a rapidly declining quality in said films. Then Split came out and people gently reversed course. One big reason? He connected Split to one of his good movies Unbreakable. So with Glass about to drop, let's see why people liked Unbreakable.

The movie follows David Dunn, quiet security guard and lone survivor of a horrific train crash. Though Dunn considers himself lucky, comic book collector Elijah Price has another theory. He believes Dunn has superhuman abilities and could be a hero in the making.

I've always liked Unbreakable more than The Sixth Sense. A big reason was the non-stop references to The Sixth Sense's twist before I even saw the film. It didn't taint my view, but it wasn't a mind-blowing experience. Unbreakable went under the radar so I went in with lower expectations and came out satisfied (funny how that works). Here's the big reasons this works.

Plays to the Director's Strengths

M. Night Shyamalan has limited capacities as a writer/director. He's not a bad director, but there are certain things you shouldn't ask him to do. Don't give him elaborate action scenes. Don't give him bright colors and locations. He is most comfortable with soft-spoken characters in dark rooms having conversations with a sense of dread in the background. He does all of that well.

And wouldn't you know it, that's what he does in this movie. But in this case it works.

The idea is that being a superhuman or superhero wouldn't necessarily be fun or exciting. It could be terrifying. The idea that you're an indestructible force that could kill someone with your strength is scary and hard to accept.

And since the movie is building to an ominous reveal, that tone matches the movie's feel and the plot's payoff. And now that I realize that Glass is a showdown between Dunn and "The Beast" from Split I just got very nervous about that movie's quality....

The Grounded Superhero Movie

Christopher Nolan got a lot of credit for making Batman feel grounded, gritty, and real. A nice counterpoint to the fantastic fun of the burgeoning MCU. Unbreakable finds an interesting merger between the two.

I really like the idea that comic book logic (i.e. humans with supernatural abilities and Superman-styled weaknesses) exists, but demonstrates itself in small ways. Dunn has gone his entire life without realizing he has powers, but Price starts to unravel how the coincidences of Dunn's life add up to an un-explainable whole.

The movie smartly uses each character as a part of the audience's consciousness as the film reveals Dunn's untapped potential. Dunn is our skeptic who scoffs at the superhero notion. Elijah is our inner conspiracy theorist. Dunn's son Joseph is our cheerleader and fanboy who really wants the superhero to go get bad guys. And somehow....everyone gets to be right. Dunn is right to be suspicious of Elijah's intentions, Elijah gets his counterpoint/purpose, and Joseph gets to know his dad is a hero.

Wow. M Night. Your scripts are pretty good when they're not up their own butt or celebrating you.

Samuel L. Jackson is My Favorite

Sam Jackson's "Glass Man" is one of my favorite characters ever. And no, not just for the scene where he knocks a bunch of stuff over like a petulant child as he's being wheeled out of the store though that's a healthy twenty-five percent. Another twenty-five percent is his presentation including his Frederick Douglas inspired haircut (yes, really), the cane, and his clothing. His presentation screams super-villain before the reveal.

But the main reason I like him is the audience's conflicted relationship with him. Once you hear his story you understand why he is the way he is. He's spent his life afraid of the world and looking up to superheroes. Of course he would want one to be real. It would give him meaning and hope.

But he's also an abrasive and relentless fella that is soo confident about his worldview that you might change sides to spite him. It's a good mixture that locks into place with the film's final reveal.

Verdict: Still Solid

Despite the dearth of superhero movies, Unbreakable is still a novel take on the genre. 7/10.