Unbreakable

Now that we know who you are, I know who I am.

A review by Mike Shea Movie Rating: ( * * * * * ) DVD Rating: ( * * * * * )

Thinking about how I was going to write this review really forced me to ask why I write these reviews at all and what readers required. Some who haven't seen the movie seek an opinion, others who have seen it wish to seek the opinion of others. Neither require a synopsis or summary of the movie. The person who has seen it already knows what it is about, the person who hasn't is better off not knowing. Unbreakable makes me think that the less said about the movie, the better. IN brief, Unbreakable is one of the best movies of the year. If you haven't seen it, stop reading and go see it with a fresh mind and unbiased perspective.

Unbreakable was directed by Sixth Sense fame. This information alone damages the fresh enjoyment of the movie since the viewer constantly seeks similarities or signatures from M. Night. Both of these exist in the movie, but do not help or hinder the rest of the film. What M. brings tot he movie is a large attention to detail and realism, a huge depth of character and his unique directing style. These three things are critical to the greatness of this movie.

M. Night managed to intertwine the depth of the characters and the detail of the environment so well it is hard to tell where one stops and another starts. Some scenes are so complex it is hard to take it all in. Giant ranges of emotion are expressed without wirds and flashes of images give more detail than an entire Jerry Bruckheimer schlockfest. What first appears to be a sub plot ends up as a major motivational factor. ALl of it is wrapped in a direction style that is unique and full of flavor without calling too much attention to itself like Traffic did. Unbreakable is haunting and marvelous.

Unbreakable isn't an action pact summer blockbuster. It doesn't race along and bombard you with special effects. This could turn off a couple of folks who were expecting something else. Some of the character motivation is a little unclear, some theories seem a little unfounded, but I was able to ignore these little road bumps as I am sure M. Night did while writing the movie. There are also hints of a subplot, but as it unfolds it becomes an integral part of the story.

The DVD for Unbreakable is a full two disc collectors edition. It includes a 1.85 to 1 16x9 enhanced picture, and both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS soundtracks. Barrels of extras are packed in including a full directors commentary, deleted scenes, a making of featurette and a lot more. This one truly deserves the title "Collectors Edition".

Unbreakable was an excellent movie simply because I knew nothing about it before hand and could let the story unfold as it chose to rather than being fed review after review telling me little bits of the plot and spoiling scenes. If this movie showed me anything, it showed me that the less I know of the movie, the better. It is always in the best interests of the viewer to simply find out whether a movie is good or not and let the story tell itself on it's own time rather than hearing some co-worker spoil it over the water cooler.