Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

Unbreakable Blu-ray Movie Review

Shyamalan's overlooked gem arrives in a solid Blu-ray package.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 3, 2008

There is a sole survivor, and he is miraculously unharmed.

I'm an M. Night Shyamalan fan in a strange sort of way, enjoying the now-legendary filmmaker's work after his breakthrough hit The Sixth Sense more than that original, very well-made and received film. For my money, and being the alien/science-fiction fan that I am, Signs is the director's best work, followed closely by Unbreakable. This film may very well be his best-kept secret, and arguably his best work technically, replete with trademark M. Night direction, including his patented twist ending. He's an auteur in the truest sense of the word, often breaking conventions, slowing his pace, and employing directorial styles that in the hands of any other filmmaker would lead to a boring, unoriginal end product. He's quite possibly my favorite director working today, and with Unbreakable, his second major film, he spins a fine tale featuring an original, clever, well- paced narrative while showcasing two of the better actors today playing off of one another, and in more ways than one. Though The Sixth Sense is his most famous work, Unbreakable may be the most quintessential, perhaps the film that best defines the director's still young but undeniably important and respected career.

The pains I go through for my millions.

An old axiom of physics states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. What if the same held true biologically, as some sort of unexplainable phenomena guided the population, creating one man to offset another? That's the theme examined in Unbreakable, starring Bruce Willis (Die Hard) as David Dunn, a security officer at the local Philadelphia college, and Samuel L. Jackson (Jumper) as Elijah Price, owner of a high-scale comic book shop and art gallery. These two men find themselves on opposite ends of the spectrum, Elijah a successful store owner, yet fragile and frail due to a congenital condition with a fancy sounding medical appellation I failed to take note of, and David a man on the verge of divorce, a former football star whose never been sick or injured in his life. When Elijah hears news of David's miraculous survival of a fatal train crash, a crash killing every passenger save for David, Elijah approaches him, hoping to finally find his antithesis, the strong man who counters his own defects, a man who unlike Elijah never gets hurt, a person to protect and guard the rest of us. If David is indeed this man, and Elijah suspects he is, David will have to first convince himself retracing old steps and taking new ones to prove his worth, showcase his talents, and become a hero in the truest sense of the word.

I love Shaymalan's style. The opening of the film when we meet Elijah just after his birth and we first learn of his fragile body is filmed naturally and with a first-person flair, the handheld camera movement almost literally placing us in the scene as a concerned, somewhat frenetic observer. The following sequence on the train where we first meet David Dunn, again frames the shots so as to place us as a participant, as if we’re watching the action from the seat in front. This time, there is indeed a person with whom we are sharing the view, a little girl watching the proceedings from the seat in front. At other times, the direction is as simple as setting the camera and shooting with no movement, lingering on its subject, or letting the camera show us the action through the reflection of an old television set. We see many more point-of-view and static shots throughout the film, and although they would likely come off as gimmicky elsewhere, they fit in perfectly in Unbreakable, all because M. Night Shyamaln is just such a wonderfully gifted director with an eye for quality, framing, and scope only a very select few directors are gifted with. Each of these types of shots are reminiscent to the works of the great directors of all time, such as Spielberg, Hitchock, and Kubrick. This style, perhaps boring, repetitive, and lacking in imagination in the hands of most other directors instead shines here, the entire film serving as a showcase for the talents of arguably the most gifted director of the past decade.

All of the marvelous technical work performed by Shyamalan in this film has created more than a few very memorable and touching scenes scattered throughout the movie. The scene featuring David Dunn walking out of the hospital as dozens of grieving families of the victims stand silently, awash in their personal losses, is perhaps the most amazing in the film, and one of the best I’ve been privileged to bear witness to. It’s powerful and poignant, as the bystanders wonder why he survived and their loved one did not. The moment was captured perfectly, Dunn as shocked as the victim's families, marking the beginning of a journey M. Night Shymamlan is about to guide us through as we learn the secret that this event will bring to the forefront of the lives of Dunn, his family, and Elijah. Bookending the film is perhaps the second best sequence of the film, that depicting Dunn's discovery of who he really is and what he's meant to do with his life. This reveal spans the entirety of the movie's final fifteen or so minutes, punctuated by several wonderful scenes, notably a nearly wordless exchange between Dunn and his son over breakfast. The entire climax of the film, due in large part Shyamalan’s excellent direction, the acting of the cast, and the majestic, mighty music, definitely proved to be a most worthy payoff for a great story and a fantastic film.

Unbreakable Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented on Blu-ray in 1080p high definition, Unbreakable's 2.35:1-framed transfer is definitely not one that will wow viewers looking for a slick, clean, and bright high-definition image. What we do see here is what M. Night Shyamalan has intended, a drab, dark, and somewhat depressing in appearance film whose visual style plays to the narrative of the story in perfect conjunction and harmony. As for the actual look of the movie as seen on Blu-ray, well, it is what it is. Flesh tones often have a reddish tint to them. The image oftentimes appears devoid of almost all color, with many scenes shot in low-lit locales, and sometimes during rainstorms under overcast skies. The image often displays a very fine layer of grain, a layer noticeable yet never intrusive. Several scenes showcased some minor imperfections, such as black splotches on the print, but they came far and few between. Black levels are moderately good, though not nearly as deep and dark as what we've seen in the best transfers. While clarity is often an issue thanks to the drab look of the film, many scenes do exhibit some very good detail, but again, thanks to the source and not the disc, the overall image doesn't really ever stand out. Only brightly lit outdoor scenes look "good," but some longer distance outdoor shots appear soft and unfocused. Check out a scene where David talks to his son in the playground in chapter 15. There is quite a bit of noise in some of the colored squares on the ground. For the most part, it's hard to say anything overly negative about the look of the movie, because we're seeing a film meant to look bleak and hopeless. All of this seems to add up to a parallel to the story, fitting right in with Dunn's despair and doubt, Elijah's desperate search for his opposite (not to mention his physical condition, which is bleak and generally pitiful), and also in the context of the surprise revelation at the end of the film.

Unbreakable Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Presented in an uncompressed 5.1 PCM mix, Unbreakable spans nearly the entire spectrum of movie soundtracks, at times loud and powerful, and at many others quite and unobtrusive, so well-placed into the film that we forget it's even there. The track can be at times mundane, and suddenly someone bumps into David, for example, and we hear a shrieking, frightening sound. When the situation calls for them, the track rises to each occasion, announcing its presence with authority and vigor, as sounds emanate from all directions, and the subwoofer is allowed to rumble a bit for good measure. For example, a car accident and subsequent rescue causes the soundtrack to explode in an amazing celebration of sound. The powerful, dynamic, and exemplary score combined with wonderful sound effects makes for a great scene, one of many in the movie and one that is definitely enhanced by the soundtrack. Scenes in both chapters 22 and 23 of the disc, the famous train station sequence and an underwater scene, both impressed me a great deal, the latter making me feel as panicked as the trapped character. There are many good ambient effects, such as echoes and other minor niceties that find their way into the rear channels to make for a pleasing experience. Dialogue reproduction is fine, though it sometimes gets lost in the music and hustle and bustle of the ambience, noticeable in many of the football stadium scenes. Overall, this is a very good score that proves it doesn't take wall-to-wall, or as is the case with Blu-ray, speaker-to-speaker, nonstop barrages of noise to make for an effective soundtrack.

Unbreakable Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

I must admit to being a bit disappointed by the extras on the disc. I was hoping for a package a bit more substantial, but alas, we have what we have, at least on this current release of Unbreakable. The first feature is entitled, simply, Behind the Scenes (480p, 14:17). This feature showcases the evolution of the film from script (the entire movie is generally the first act of your typical film), the differences in crew between Unbreakable and The Sixth Sense, the thematic elements seen throughout the movie, the pace and shooting of the movie, and so on. Like the movie, this extra is rather bleak and dull, but also like the movie, I found it a fascinating watch nevertheless. Comic Books and Superheroes (480p, 19:22) examines the importance of superheroes in culture, their evolution, and the new breed of superhero in today's world. This is a fine feature, though a bit on the dull side, and especially appealing to those into comics and their history. Train Station Sequence: Multi-Angle Feature (480p, 4:11) allows viewers to switch between the version of this scene as seen in the movie or to view an animated storyboard version of it simply by pressing the "enter" button on your remote control. Night's First Fight Sequence (480p, 2:27) is a look at a scene from the movie Millionaire, a film from M. Night's childhood, and it makes for a good laugh. Finally, a series of seven deleted scenes (480p, 28:29) round out the special features.

Unbreakable Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Unbreakable is M. Night Shyamalan at the top of his game. While not as popular as The Sixth Sense, I strongly believe it to be the stronger film technically (and believe me, I love The Sixth Sense). Its story is right up there as well, spinning a tale that is both original and imaginative, a simple yet elegant tale of good versus evil and the search we all must undertake to find our true selves. Both Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson are phenomenal in their roles, Willis playing his with a reserved caution and Jackson with an ever-so-slightly-maniacal manner that's well hidden under a smooth, fragile (literally), yet also tough (figuratively) exterior. Released at the beginning of the decade, Unbreakable remains one of my favorites of the past eight or so years, proving to be both an entertaining film yet also one that shows just how one goes about making a really, really good movie. Thankfully, Disney has seen fit to release it on the Blu-ray format, and I am mostly pleased with the results. The video quality represents the look and mood of the film well, and the audio is pleasing and engaging, but only when need be. While I was a bit underwhelmed by the extras, I nevertheless think adding this Blu-ray disc to your collection would be a wise move, and it comes highly recommended.