Unbreakable (DVD, 2001, 2-Disc Set, Vista Series)

I bought the special edition DVD because I loved this movie, but only had it on VHS.
The bonus material is good...especially the interviews with M. Night and Samuel L. Jackson...makes the Special Edition version worth the extra cost.

As far as the movie itself, it is one of my top ten, if not top three films of all-time. It is, by far, my favorite superhro movie. WARNING: It is NOT like Iron Man, X-Men, Batman, etc. (no big explosions or blue & yellow spandex). I do like and enjoy the recent spate of superhero movies (I am also a long-time comic fan), but this movie/story provides the "realistic" rationale for 'heroes' in the real world.

It is basically the origin story of an original hero (played by Bruse Willis). As M. Night puts it "is the first act of a three act-play". My son (action-addict) did not like it...we will give him a couple years and see. It is methodically-paced and can easily be too slow-moving for some viewers. It, like most M. Night films, has a 'surprise ending'...I will not spoil it for you.

It is also the story of redemption. The main character is not happy. It can be seen as a parable for/of most modern, middle-aged men who know that 'something' is missing from their lives.

It is also the story of deserving what our sons think of us (at least until they become teenagers).

It also presents an interesting theory of how/why heroes might exist based on the spectrum of genetic differences (similarly and better than the TV show Heroes [also one of my favs]) and can lead to interesting discussions of how different-from-the-norm is "super".

So, it is a GREAT film. Not everyone will like it, but if you want a "thinking-man's superhero movie", this is it.

The movie starts off with a train wreck. However, they decided not to show the train wreck at all. You see Willis riding the train and then his son sees a news bulletin about a train wreck. Lame. And right there, you know this movie is going to be boring.

The entire movie revolves around Willis discovering that he's a comic book superhero. Not a bad premise, I will grant you that. But nothing ever happens. The movie leads into scenes where some action could occur, but nothing ever does. And I'm saying that the film needs ot be action packed, but it's pretty dull since NOTHING ever happens.

The end is easily predicted. Of course, we know who the bad guy is all along. The bad guy is always the dramatic foil of the good guy (physically and mentally). In this movie, you know who the bad guy is right away because it's so easy to pick out the dramatic foil to Willis.

Lame movie. I generally like M. Night Shyamalan's work, so don't think I am riding the bandwagon by bashing him. I really enjoyed "The Village," "The Sixth Sense," and "Signs." But this one just falls short.

My advice: don't waste the two hours of your life.

Overall, I love this movie! It's creative, thought-provoking, and suspenseful. M. Night did a great job with this one. Though I love all of his movies, this one had to be the most real and therefore one of his most intriguing films yet. The acting is also amazing, but then again, when is Bruce Willis not at his best? Samuel L. Jackson also did a fantastic job. Because the film is set in the present, the audience is left wondering, is it possible that real heroes and villains roam our streets? The movie also has its emotional scenes with the father/son relationship, a failing marriage, and a fragile man who has grown up accepting the fact that he will never be able to live the way others do. I definitely give it two thumbs up!

This film is in the begining of M. Night Shamalan's career. What a great effort it is. There has been no other film director with the sense of suspense,irony and thrill since the great Alfred Hitchcock.Bruce Willis gives a fine performence as the unsuspecting hero as Shamalan takes us on an offbeat twist on Urban Legends. Sam L Jackson also gives us a chill with his effort as the antihero. Can Urban legends be the basis for comic book charaters? Are the heros in them based on everyday Joe's with extraordinary senses? Are our serial killers and common criminal the nemisis of our comic books? All things are possible in the mind and films of the great genius of M.Night Shamalan. I've enjoyed every one of his films and this is just another example of his tallent for shifting our perspective on the ordinary.

The first time I saw this movie I left the theater feeling unsure of whether I liked it or not. It followed the 6th sense of course, so expectations were high. And the story just builds and crescendos and right about the time you are so worked up and ready for it to turn into a full on marvel-style-action-super-hero​-movie, the credits role.

Later I realized that, if the one thing that bothers you about a movie is that you wanted there to be more of it (not that it didn't have an ending, just that you were craving more, you weren't ready for it to end), well that must mean the movie itself was quite good. So I watched it again. And fell in love. This is the best movie ever.

Take the reason everyone loves Superman and Spiderman - because of the personal fantasies of each of our inner child, our inner super-child. Bring it down home to reality, make it seem so real, tell the story, show the drama of how it would really play out in a personal life, and you have this very intense movie with personal depth. Kudo's to M-Knight-Shima-Himalayan. This is his best. I just still wish the DVD had a disc 2 with a full on action movie of extended story line to roll after the credits.

The Village is his next best. If you were wondering.