Hidden Gems: Unbreakable

By Kyle Lee

July 11, 2016

It should have been obvious Mr. Glass was the villain. He's wearing the Joker's suit.

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Although it was technically a box office success, it was less so than The Sixth Sense, much less well reviewed (mixed, but still positive), and ultimately forgotten in the huge success of Signs two years later, and Shyamalan's ultimate downfall afterwards. Also, the movie was marketed like a psychological thriller, instead of the serious comic book movie Shyamalan made and wanted it to be marketed as. So, many left the theater a little puzzled as what we'd expected wasn't what was delivered. I have always loved comics, but even I was a bit let down when leaving the theater, though that could've been because my 17-year-old self hadn't developed as a movie goer like I have since. But still, the marketing didn't help the word-of-mouth of this movie, which has thankfully developed a passionate cult following since its release.

Watching this movie, it was obvious that Shyamalan had genius within him. This is the best superhero movie ever (only The Incredibles, The Dark Knight and the recent Captain America: Civil War are even in the same tier), and it's because it has not only the serious dramatic weight that Christopher Nolan would get credit for introducing to the genre five years later with Batman Begins, but also the visual audacity not seen in any other entry to superhero movies. There are deliberate multi-minute shots, definitely not seen in the hyperkinetic work of the genre today. For instance, it's just over nine minutes into the movie when we get to shot number three. Then there are the motifs like Elijah and glass ("the kids called me Mr. Glass"), where we see him often reflected in mirrors, glass panels, TV screens, etc. The color motifs of purple for Elijah, green for David, and pops of color (red, orange, blue, whatever) from the normally dreary palette for when David senses someone bad. There's that simple attention to visual detail and depth that no other superhero movie has. This is really masterful filmmaking, no matter what happened to Shyamalan afterwards.




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And then there's the acting. This is not the typical wise ass, John McClane style Bruce Willis. He's quiet and insular, but with a strength that we can easily believe in him as the square-jawed hero Elijah believes him to be. Sam Jackson does some of his best work in the movie, especially in the final scene where he sees David's good deed in the newspaper and says, "It has begun." We see him slowly show that maniacal gleam in his eye as he talks to David about it being scary to not know your place in this world. "Now that we know who you are, I know who I am." It's really terrific work from both actors, and probably the best work of Willis' career. Robin Wright has a great scene where she confronts David about wanting to restart their marriage, really showing a lot of uncertainty, pain, vulnerability and how hard it is to put yourself out there after you've been hurt. It's the kind of scene a woman doesn't normally get in a superhero movie, and not just because something as real as confronting marital troubles isn't normally really dealt with in a movie like this. Even so, like every superhero movie, this comes down to the hero and the villain and they're absolutely perfect here.

I believe Unbreakable should stand atop the mountain of superhero movies. Despite being an original creation and not a Batman, Superman, or Spiderman adaptation, it's steeped more in comic lore than any other movie. And it is steeped in greatness more than any other comic book movie.


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