Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageUnbreakable (2000)
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Following The Sixth Sense was always going to be a nightmare for writer/director Shyamalan, even with Willis and Jackson on board. Yet this study of comic-book heroism and human destiny challenges rather than meets the audience's expectations. The miraculous sole survivor of a train crash, Philadelphia security guard David Dunn (Willis) is told by Elijah Price (Jackson) - a dealer in comic-book art with a fertile imagination and brittle bones - that he is 'unbreakable'. Like indestructible comic-book heroes, David has been put on Earth to vanquish evil. The movie then swerves into deeper, murkier territory, as the bewildered David ponders the cosmic consequences of this knowledge. Is this crazy, Biblical soothsayer right? If so, does he have a responsibility to develop and use his super-powers? Whereas The Sixth Sense left audiences surprised but surprisingly comfortable, this more mature and ambitious movie preserves its ambiguities and keeps everyone guessing. As David's wife Audrey, Wright Penn is mostly sidelined, although a brief exchange about their shaky marriage provides the film's most compelling emotional moment. If anything, the near somnambulant Willis is a little too restrained, as if to counter-balance Jackson's flamboyant, mesmerising portrayal of the mysterious stranger Elijah.Author: NF
Cast & crew
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Producer: M Night Shyamalan, Barry Mendel, Sam Mercer
Cast: Bruce Willis, Samuel L Jackson, Robin Wright Penn, Spencer Treat Clark, Charlayne Woodard, Eamonn Walker, Leslie Stefanson full cast
Duration: 107 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now