Hmmm. Well, I absolutely loved "The Sixth Sense." In
fact, I did back flips over that film. But M. Night
Shyamalan's newest effort, "Unbreakable" failed to
ignite that same enthusiasm.
This is still an interesting film complete with
scenes to marvel over sharing screen time with the
not-so-great moments. Generally speaking, too much
time is spent in the set up and not enough on the
punch.
I've said before of "The Sixth Sense"
that I didn't need the ending kicker twist - I still
would have loved that film. Not so of "Unbreakable"
which titillates unevenly like glitter in a murky
stream. The opening shot between seats is clever, but
becomes tiresome. In fact, the whole first act could
have used a shot in the arm. Willis, Penn and
Woodward are strong, believable and likable. But,
I've seen Jackson give better performances (though
the actor playing the younger Jackson does a fine
job).
I particularly enjoyed the meaty sequence just
prior to the end; more of the like was needed as
lead-ins to it. Perhaps they were written, but cut
for time. Too bad, cuts in the first act would have
made for a better film.
Overall, the finished product is lumpy - a
way-cool idea that is no doubt way-difficult to
translate to film. Shyamalan makes a respectable
attempt in "Unbreakable," but lands shy of the
excellence he'd achieved in his earlier work.
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