Bruce Willis’ Unbreakable untakable
by Ashley Clark, entertainment editor
With the tremendous hit The Sixth Sense to his name, M. Night Shyamalan had movie-goers anxiously awaiting his next creation, Unbreakable, opening tomorrow, Nov. 23.
Unfortunately, this “spin off” tends to display only the outline for what could have been a great movie, rather than the complex, plot-twisting combination between The Matrix and The Sixth Sense the writer was obviously aiming for.
Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson star in a feeble attempt at a “real life” comic book creation.
Jackson’s character, Elijah is the villain with a frail bone structure, which causes his frame to fracture easily.
He believes somewhere in the world there is a man who is the exact opposite of him—one who is invincible and chosen to protect human kind.
He begins to search for this man and finds David Dunn (Willis). Elijah then tries to convince David that he is the unbreakable hero opposite that he has been searching for.
Elijah’s beliefs come from his knowledge of comic books.
Furthermore, his information disturbs David, who questions his own identity when he hears what Elijah has to say.
David has a son, Joseph, played by Spencer Treat Clark, who is convinced by Elijah’s testimony and desperately wants to believe that his dad is an invincible super hero.
With The Sixth Sense still fresh in people’s minds, it is difficult not to compare Clark’s performance to that of Haley Joel Osment.
Apparently, Clark was aware of this because his actions and talents were very similar. One might not be able to help looking for Clark to be Osment in the film.
If people were to look for Willis to appear as he did in Sixth Sense, they would find themselves successful. The story line is the only difference.
However, this is not entirely disappointing. Willis’ character is believable and endearing.
Playing opposite characters on film, Jackson and Willis seem to be opposite in acting ability as well.
This opposition is surprising as Jackson usually turns in phenomenal performances.
This time around, he is cheesy and overdramatic.
Some line deliveries received laughs in the audience when the goal was obviously gasps of shock and suspense.
The film is not entirely unsuccessful in the suspense area.
David has a sixth sense of his own that lets him see the frightening pasts of certain people he runs into with a single touch.
There is only one scene, where David steps in to a crime situation, when the movie feels like a thriller.
Other than that, it is better described as eerie and interesting rather than suspenseful.
When filming, director and writer Shyamalan chose to use several full picture shots rather than several cut-to-cut shots that are more often used in current movies. His reasoning for this is that he wants the audience to feel that everything is real.
There were fewer camera set-ups, and settings were decorated simply.
“Only the information that is needed to tell the story is there,” Shyamalan said.
However, a little more camera work may have added extra suspense elements that were desperately needed to make this film thoroughly enjoyable.
There also seemed to be an overwhelmingly abundant use of the color blue in the film.
Costumes, lighting, settings, etc. were all in shades of blue or gray.
It seemed like an over attempt to be artsy and symbolic although the purpose was never exposed.
The entire film can be described as “disappointing.” The writer started off with a strong outline and many great ideas. It was the details that were left out.
Unbreakable had the potential of an amazing multi-dimensional thriller that could have topped The Sixth Sense.
However, the effort from the writer and director seemed minimal, the acting was mediocre (with the exception of Willis) and even though the ending offered the classic “twist,” Unbreakable ended in an abrupt and fatal fashion.
Unbreakable opens tomorrow and is rated PG-13. Visit the Web site at www.areyouunbreakable. movies.com.
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