DVD Review: Unbreakable: Vista Series

[Guest TSMAdmin]

Written and Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

 

Released by Touchstone Home Video and Buena Vista

 

Rated PG-13, 107 min.

 

What do the movies National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon I, Pulp Fiction and Die Hard With a Vengeance all have in common? If you said "Samuel L. Jackson with bad hairdos." you are absolutely right. And Unbreakable does NOTHING to break that trend. But if you said they are also all the movies in which Jackson and Bruce Willis have co-starred in together you would also be correct. None of them, however, (no, not even Die Hard) capitalizes on their unique talents like M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable.

 

After M. Night Shyamalan's directorial debut and worldwide phenomenon The Sixth Sense raked in over 300 million dollars in the US alone (making it one of the highest grossing pictures of all time), expectations were set unreasonably high for whatever he decided his follow-up would be. Shyamalan had more pressure on him to produce than probably ever before. Steve Young following the legendary Joe Montana at quarterback in San Francisco-type of pressure. The movie-going public wanted a film just as good, if not superior, to his first feature. They would accept nothing less. Soon, news began to spread that Shyamalan was writing a script specifically for Bruce Willis, one of the stars of The Sixth Sense. Reuniting this actor/director team was music to the ears of fans of The Sixth Sense, and was like a DeNiro/Scorsese reunion of sorts, only of the supernatural/thriller genre and not of mob and gangster lore. Add to this that Willis would be paired with the formidable acting skills of one Samuel L. Jackson, throw in some mysterious teaser trailers and you had fans salivating at the possibilities and anticipating yet another can't-miss blockbuster from Shyamalan.

 

However, when the finished product, Unbreakable, hit theaters the audience was clearly divided. One half, fans of The Sixth Sense (who were clearly expecting more of the same), was disappointed. They either called Shyamalan "lucky" for succeeding with his first film or accused him of falling victim to the "sophmore slump." They felt Shyamalan delivered a film that moved at a snail's pace with a payoff hardly worth the long wait. (It's called "character development," people. Look into it.) The other half thought that they were treated to an all-around better movie than the audience-friendly Sixth Sense; one that was superbly directed and acted, absorbing from beginning to end (not just because the actors whisper most of their dialogue, forcing you to actually listen) and would be remembered for more than its "surprise" ending.

 

In a way, Shyamalan shot himself in the foot by leading the audience to expect the same and making the two films so similar. (Or maybe that's what he wanted us to think, and made his ending more effective than most give it credit for.) Both are set in the city of Philadelphia and at their heart focus on unexplained phenomena. Bruce Willis' character in both movies has an especially close relationship with a young boy. And in both, one character helps another believe in himself and after overcoming their initial fears, the character then finds a sense of purpose and uses his powers to benefit others.

 

The Sixth Sense, in my opinion, was average filmmaking at best. It pleased the masses with its typical horror movie devices and was forever etched on people's brains for one reason alone: it delivered the unexpected in spectacular fashion; a visceral shock ending and plot twist that guaranteed high praise and more importantly, repeated viewings. Who here didn't get a chill down their spine or feel as if someone had snatched out your brain and knocked you on your ass when Willis' wedding band rolled across the floor as he looked down at his blood-soaked torso at the end of The Sixth Sense?

 

Like The Sixth Sense, the best way to enjoy Unbreakable is to go in knowing as little as possible about the movie itself and to check your expectations at the door. It would be a shame to sit through this masterpiece simply waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'll attempt to tell you as much (or as little) as I can without spoiling the movie for you:

 

The Movie:

 

Unbreakable is a movie about two men who are very much opposites: David Dunne (Willis) is the somber and subdued, low-key everyman that Willis plays so well. He's not a wealthy man and is currently in the process of separating from his wife (Robin Wright Penn) and their young son (Spencer Treat Clark of Gladiator fame, who bears just a slight resemblance to Haley Joel Osment of The Sixth Sense). Elijah Price (Jackson), on the other hand, is a respectable, well-to-do art dealer, specializing in comic books. The movie opens in the past, showing us the birth of Elijah, who is born with, we learn later, osteogenesis imperfecta, a condition that makes his bones especially brittle and extremely easy to break. In fact, when Elijah is born, both his arms and legs are already broken.

 

We then fast-forward to the opposite of the past, the present, where David is on a train on his way back home to Philadelphia. A horrific catastrophe occurs, as the train crashes and kills every passenger aboard, except David, who miraculously survives and emerges unscathed without so much as a scratch on him. Hearing the news, Elijah's curiosity is piqued about this man who is seemingly "unbreakable" and he begins to set in motion a series of events that will ensure that he and David are on a collision course of their own. Elijah has an interesting theory about why David survived that train wreck, what David's true nature is and what he was really put on this Earth to accomplish.

 

The DVD:

 

This is the first disc in Buena Vista's Vista Series line and quite frankly, they need to do a better job than this for the money they're charging (about $23). (And actually they have since I first wrote this review. Their releases of The Sixth Sense and Tombstone are both above average) All of the extras are on the second disc, but the special features aren't all that special. You have seven deleted scenes (one of which, young Elijah in the amusement park, I could've sworn I saw in the theaters when it was released), a 15 minute "Making of . . . " documentary and a 20 minute documentary on comic books (with Frank Miller AND Alex Ross. Fanboys rejoice!). You need a second disc for that? Austin Powers had more special features and easter eggs than that and it didn't take two discs. But then again, they say a DTS soundtrack takes up a lot of space, so I assume that's why this stuff couldn't fit on the first disc that the feature is on. But Buena Vista really disappointed me in the way of extras with this first Vista Series release. A director as lauded as Shyamalan and you provide no director's commentary? Go to Hell, Buena Vista. The feature itself is presented in a 2.35: 1 anamorphic transfer approved by THX. It also has DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 (English/Spanish/French Dolby 5.1) soundtracks. For you comic book fans, there are two "collectible" Alex Ross illustrations included of the two leads.

 

IMODO:

 

We knew Samuel Jackson could act, but Bruce Willis? Mr. Die Hard really sets himself apart from his Planet Hollywood cohorts here. Arnie and Sly have never, nor could they ever hope to display this type of range. Good job, Boy Scout. Shyamalan's directorial style has drawn comparisons to Hitchcock, but I wouldn't go that far just yet after only his second feature. Shyamalan does employ a lot of interesting techniques to keep you involved as the story progresses, gradually unfolding layer by layer. If you take the time to notice, there are a lot of wide angle shots in the film, as if we are watching the action from a distance. Other times, we are right on top of the action, but peering through a metal gate or between the seats of a train, almost as if we were eavesdropping on the characters interaction. Pay close attention as all of Samuel Jackson's scenes begin in a reflection off of a TV screen, a mirror or glass or are shot upside down. Soak in the monochromatic color scheme that Shyamalan uses that is almost as drab as the DVD packaging. Not that drab is a bad thing; it serves the story well and makes color an important part of the overall picture.

 

Final Thoughts:

 

If you were a fan of The Sixth Sense and are expecting more of the same, you will not like Unbreakable. But if you are an open-minded and mature adult who likes a challenging, character-driven and meditative piece than this is for you. Shyamalan takes a specific genre and adapts it to a modern-day, real life setting but of course, you won't know what that specific genre is until the film's end. But Shyamalan knows exactly how to toy with your emotions and engross you in the meantime, making the entire journey an enjoyable one, not just the final destination.

 

O. R. Polk, Jr.