Image courtesy of wallpapercave.com
While working on my review of The Butterfly Effect, I was in the middle of visiting a rather unconventional trilogy, for which the final installment was recently released. Its nickname is the Eastrail 177 Trilogy, after the event that started it all in the movie that started it all, and that movie is known as Unbreakable.
Following a devastating train crash in which he is the sole survivor (and emerges unscathed), security guard David Dunn crosses paths with a comic book art dealer named Elijah Price, who has been suffering his whole life from a condition in which his bones are very fragile, and many fractures as a result. While in the hospital, he developed a theory based on the comics he read: He is the embodiment of human frailty, so there must be someone out there who’s the complete opposite (someone who’s “unbreakable,” so to speak). This leads him to David and his having recently survived the train crash… and a series of mind games as to whether or not Elijah’s theory is true.
What Worked: First of all, the cast is excellent in this. Bruce Willis is great as David Dunn, showing that he can embody the character’s vulnerability not just mentally, but physically as well, and both aspects are really put to the test in this movie, and they each have their share of shocking revelations. The most shocking one comes with the twist, and believe me, you won’t see it coming.
Then there’s Samuel L. Jackson as Elijah Price, who also goes by the nickname “Mr. Glass” because of his condition. Even though you don’t know it right off the bat as you would in any other superhero movie, he’s still more or less the villain here, and he makes for a really good villain at that. He’s the “charming on the outside, crazy on the inside” or the “methodical maniac” type of villain. He doesn’t play it over the top, he plays it straight, and that keeps with the movie’s “grounded in reality” feel. That’s just one of many examples of breaking convention (not the kind you’re probably thinking of) here.
There’s also Robin Wright (Wonder Woman) as David’s wife Audrey, and she’s really good here as well, having a smaller but still significant role in the story. Then there’s Spencer Treat Clark as their son Joseph, who believes his Dad is a superhero, and Charlayne Woodard as Elijah’s Mom. They, too, are the same way, but those two you’ll want to keep in mind for later.
It’s also worth noting that the director of the movie himself, M. Night Shyamalan, makes a cameo. You’ll definitely want to keep his character in mind in addition to them, as it might just go full circle by the time I get to Movie #3.
Speaking of M. Night Shyamalan, his direction is very good, and this was during the time when he was just getting started, because this was the movie he did following the enormous popularity of The Sixth Sense. His writing isn’t bad, either.
One more thing to mention: James Newton Howard’s score is fantastic, and there’s great cinematography on display here as well.
What Didn’t Work: There’s maybe some minor (and I mean very minor) pacing issues, but honestly, that’s really it.
Overall: Unbreakable is a great movie, and it’s often considered one of the best superhero movies of all time now, because of how it approaches the genre in such a unique way. As much as I really enjoyed the follow-ups to this one, I still think this is probably M. Night Shyamalan’s best movie*. Out of all superhero movies, it’s definitely among the more underrated ones. It has a fascinating premise, a great cast of both characters and actors, some very tense moments as well as some very emotional ones, and a twist that is still mindblowing even today. If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend you do so, especially if you want to see how it all comes together in the end.
*His worst is kind of obvious for the vast majority, including myself… and the time will inevitably come where I end up having to cover it. Here’s the twist: I’ve seen it more times than The Butterfly Effect, yet that’ll ultimately feel less painful. That’s how bad his worst movie is (and I’m barely scratching the surface).