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Why is Unbreakable such a good (or bad) movie?

#31
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1/23/02 at 12:31pm
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Without posting any spoilers, I hated it because it was too slow and I had to wait all that time to get to the end and see such a stupid ending.

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#32
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1/23/02 at 1:28pm
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There are two issues that people seem to have with the film.

1. The verrry slow pace

2. The ending, which is very abrupt and in some ways unsatisfying.

Basically, after a lot of waiting, you get the twist ending and then immediatly the text ending the movie. Most people have a problem with this, including Night, who from all reports was working on it, but this is the best he could do, so he stuck with it.

Mostly, tho, I don't think the movie hangs on its ending, like The Sixth Sense does. The movie was a postmodern superhero origin story, which worked quite well. He could have tightened it up slightly and maybe found a better ending for it, but I thought it was pretty darn good.

Jason
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#33
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1/23/02 at 3:24pm
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Unbreakable may be the second worst movie I've ever seen. You should probably rent it first, then decide.
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#34
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1/23/02 at 3:30pm
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I enjoyed Unbreakable a lot. As Scott W. said, it's not perfect, not great, but very good. And though I'm not a comics-collector, I've read enough of the good stuff to have developed an interest in superhero deconstruction: I'm fascinated by the merger of superheros with real life. And Unbreakable did that. It also contained aspects of the notion that old mythologies contain bits of truth, perhaps long forgotten (something I first found reading C.S. Lewis).

So, thematically, Unbreakable really works for me.

Quote:
Unbreakable, like the Sixth Sense and, to a lesser degree, Memento, hinge upon the Big Surprise Ending that's supposed to shock us.
I disagree with this. For me, this movie is about the process, not the resolution.

It seems to be a movie that either you like or you don't. I've not seen many ambivalent reactions to it.
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#35
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1/23/02 at 3:32pm
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An excellent film. I also enjoyed it much more than The Six Sense. A very well done movie.


Peace Out~

Sometime's you reach what's real by making believe.

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#36
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1/23/02 at 3:40pm
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I enjoyed Unbreakable much more than the overrated Sixth Sense. If you enjoy reading comic books, you will especially enjoy Unbreakable. The dialogue is a somewhat stilted, as M. Knight has shown in the aforementioned and also The Sixth Sense, but the story of a man trying to find his superpowers (if they indeed are present) is done quite well here.

Why not rent it first to see if you like it and then decide if you want to buy it?
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#37
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1/23/02 at 4:24pm
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Quote:
6ht sense and unbreakable. one word. MARVELLOUS!


I saw both and had the exact opposite reaction from above. I thought Bruce Willis acted like he was on sedatives through both films.

JerryT
I started out with nothing & still have most of it left.

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#38
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1/23/02 at 4:25pm
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Unbreakable was a terrific movie.

The reason it shines is because it does the whole "super-hero" story from a completely different aspect. Most super hero movies of the last ten years follow the Batman mold. A little background on super hero and villian, the villian's plan unfolds, the city is held hostage, Hero must overcome evil to win. Well, while that's fine and dandy, after about 10 go arounds, this story line gets tiring. Instead of following this, M. Night focused just on the Background section. Flushing out exactly how someone would begin to realize and come to grips with super human abilities is extremely interesting and intriguing. This is one aspect that I myself and others think about when you see "super-hero" movies. Imagine waking up tomorrow and realize you can never get sick and never get hurt (in the traditional sense). You don't just go out and fight crime like some melodramatic movie role. At first, you obviously deny your ability. If you so desire, you can come to fully realize your potential. Unbreakable showed how David slowly develops his gift and begins to realize what he is capable of. But it takes guidance from others to keep David from becoming completely ignorant of his abilities.

The ending is not shocking in the sense that you find out his friend is actually his enemy, no, the shocking part is finding out you just witnessed a prequel, in a sense. The traintracks led right up to a predictable ending but you find out you actually watched the birth of a superhero, not just another mindless saga in "Super-Hero" movies 101. It was refreshing to see someone finally bring a good super hero film to the screen, especially one you don't realize is breaking the mold until the very end. Upon repeated viewings you will begin to notice the slow and deliberate Good vs. Evil cinematography that M. Night used during the movie. It's absolutely brilliant.
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#39
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1/23/02 at 4:45pm
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I LOVE this film. Its one of the best Superhero films ever. $15 at Walmart too.
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#40
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1/23/02 at 4:47pm
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Unbreakable is a masterpiece and I love it. The music is fantastic as well.
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#41
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1/23/02 at 5:23pm
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I think it's great.

It's mainly directed towards comic book fans so if you're a comic book fan then I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
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#42
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1/23/02 at 5:25pm
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I thought Unbreakable was awesome. If you like comics or superheroes, it's great. If you don't, it's slow. It really depends.

POWERFUL THE DARKSIDE IS... I caved and bought the Star Wars re-release after saying the whole time that I wouldn't.
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#43
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1/23/02 at 6:16pm
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Thread merged from one at software started by same user.

Just to clarify if some of the posts seem a bit confusing...
I did nothing...I did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it could be..
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#44
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1/23/02 at 6:54pm
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I saw this movie in the theater and the only thing that really annoyed me about it was the little kid, I mean he was such a whiner. But as the film progressed I found myself more involved with it than I thought I would be. I ended up buying the DVD and watched it once. Like Jack I never bothered with the bonus disc of material. However, after viewing this post today I decided to pop in this film and give it another try, I obviously didn't hate the movie as I purchased the DVD so what the heck, while watching it I really latched on to a few things and began to see the film with new eyes. There is a very human side to this movie and I found myself deeply torn between the two main characters in the film. I think if we look deep down inside that we can find parts of ourselves both good and evil and that yes, for the most part they balance each other out. Good film, glad I bought it in the end.

Peace
Eve
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#45
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1/23/02 at 7:41pm
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The common theme that really brought me into "The Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable" was family. "Sense" is really about a man trying to reconnect with his distant wife, while "Unbreakable" is about how every kid thinks his dad is a superhero. Both movies involve beautiful cinematography and resounding scores from James Newton Howard. Willis is in top form in these two movies, and it really shows.

M. Night Shymalan really has me pumped for "Signs" in the summer!
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#46
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1/23/02 at 8:01pm
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Awesome film. I never much liked The Sixth Sense because the whole movie depended upon its gimmick. Unbreakable would be a great film even without the twist. Along with The Virgin Suicides, its the best American film of 2000.

Mark

My art imitates crime.

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#47
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1/24/02 at 12:34am
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There is no double standard regarding the 'text' ending for me. I think the ending jarrs because of the very slow pace of the rest of the movie. It's obviously well-paced for others but to me it just seems mis-weighted - too much time spent on inconsequential stuff followed by an incredibly swift wrap-up that left you feeling a bit 'cheated' for having sat through so long. What was the point in this change of pace? Better to have had a similar feel to the ending too.
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#48
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1/24/02 at 2:22am
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Oh yeah, I cant wait for Signs. Thats really got me interested. Shymalan is really a bit like Kubrick, not only in his style (Very long shots and just the feel), but his films are either love or hate films.
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#49
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1/24/02 at 5:00am
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Unbreakable is an amazing film and my favorite Superhero film next to X-men. I found M. Night's Superhero orgin story a breath of fresh air. M. Night also really knows how to get a lot out of Bruce Willis. I felt that both Unbreakable and The Sixth Sense are his two best films, acting wise. I like both films a lot but I feel Unbreakable is the superior of the two films.

I loved the human aspect of the film and I love the fact that a Superhero has a real life as a family man and real problems. The scene where Bruce is lifting the weights and his son keeps adding the weights is very powerful. You just get the feeling that David is finally coming to grips with who he is and what he could do. I also loved his battle, with one of the most creepiest guys I have ever seen, at the end of the film to rescue the 2 children. I also really like how M. Night used colors to show who were the people commiting crimes.

I can't say enough good things about this film. Oh, and the music score is fantastic!

-Dean-


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#50
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1/24/02 at 5:06am
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Bruce has never bettered 12 Monkeys IMO. Actually I'd have said he gave a better performance in DIe Hard than he did in 6th Sense/Unbreakable, but I find those to be great performances, nonetheless.
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#51
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2/8/02 at 10:25am
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Just saw this last night for the first time and loved this film. I can see where others wouldn't like it.

1. Slow pacing - I found it to be deliberate and told the story in an eerie fashion, but I could see where others would say it was slow.

2. Great cinematography - very stylistic, and hardly anything is shot "straight on" - it's a great film to watch just to get ideas on different ways to shoot scenes.

3. "Surprise ending" - isn't as gimmicky as 6th Sense (which I liked) and not as "satisfying" but I definitely didn't see it coming until the very end.

4. Great Willis / child / wife / Jackson performances (IMO).

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#52
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2/8/02 at 10:51am
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Buy this DVD now please! It's a great movie, I enjoyed it very much. If your'e not used to seeing slow movies, then this might not be the film for you. But if you did, get it! The Vista Series DVD's are just awesome "anyone seen the tombstone one!". This movie, I think, is just way underated, and maybe the sixth sense was a contributor to that. Peoples expectations where way to high. None-the-less. I can't wait for "SIGNS".
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#53
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2/8/02 at 11:23am
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There's plenty to enjoy in Unbreakable. Moreso I believe if you know about the pacing and the abruptness of the ending, which lessens the 'blow' that those of us who saw it blind felt.
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#54
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2/8/02 at 10:22pm
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One of my favorite films of 2001 and probably the best super hero film ever.

I went into this movie cold and was totally blown away and surprised.

I wish the rumour about it being the first part of a trilogy were true. I would love to see another few movies with these characters. But only if it was done by M Knight.
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#55
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2/9/02 at 1:01am
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I enjoyed Unbreakable, but hate Sixth Sense. I think it is something to do with Haley Joel Osment. Kid gives me the creeps.

Tim Maynard
"You want the truth?! You can't handle the truth!! No truth-handler you!! Bah!! I deride your truth-handling abilities!!"

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#56
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2/9/02 at 4:01am
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Quote:
Shymalan is really a bit like Kubrick

[c][/c]
[c]\"Where did you take, this girl Jerry?\"[/c]

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#57
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2/9/02 at 4:55am
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The pacing was too slow for the eventual ending. But then again I wasn't that impressed with the sixth sense either.

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#58
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2/9/02 at 3:02pm
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Hello,

Unbreakable gets a big thumbs down from me. I wasn't expecting much and was still disappointed at every turn. I can take, and usually enjoy a slow movie with methodical character development but most of this movie was just boring. The ending was laughable and transparent to me from mid point in the movie. I don't think this movie relied upon its twist ending, neither did the Sixth Sense in my opinion.

I left the theater with a headache and have no desire to watch this movie again.

Thanks,
Jeff
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#59
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2/9/02 at 8:10pm
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I saw unbreakable twice in the theaters and I absolutely love the film, It's in my top three movies for 2000. and i've probably watched it three or four times since getting the dvd. one thing you might notice on rewatching is th subtle use of color. David Dunn's superhero colors, Green and Yellow are often worn by his wife and kid at varying points in the movie depending on their attitude toward him. Also blue seems to signify danger is immenent. Check out the obscenely blue bridge in the background just before Elijah falls down the stairs. there are other little touches, elijah's colors are purple and silver, the red and orange parts of the color scale seem to indicate evil etc. I realy wish the dvd had some feature or interview withteh cinematographer, but alas, no .
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#60
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2/9/02 at 10:19pm
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I love movies about people getting powers and stuff like that and the fact that M. Knight worked the world of comics books into it and showed them as more than just a medium for kids really got me all excited. It's a proud part of my collection.
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