Unbreakable - 2000

In what was originally billed as a paranormal thriller, Bruce Willis stars as David Dunn, a man who cannot be injured. It starts when he’s the only passenger on a doomed train to survive a horrific accident. He returns home to his estranged wife and doting son, only to have to face questions about how he could possibly have survived without any injuries whatsoever. Once he’s home, the flick takes on the character of a family movie or human interest drama.

Then Dunn is approached by Elijah Price (Samuel Jackson), a victim of osteogenesis imperfecta - brittle bone disease. Price has suffered numerous broken bones throughout his life and presents a tragic figure we can not help but sympathize with despite his rough, gangsta-style exterior. Price is obsessed with superhero comics and has build a business around them; this started when his loving mother gave him comics as a gift to comfort him when he was a child. He’s decided that a superhero with unbreakable bones must exist and he wants that man’s secret. This obsession is what leads him to David Dunn.

As Dunn grapples with the facts of invincibility, he also has to deal with the unwanted attention of Elijah Price. Dunn and his wife, Audrey (Robin Wright Penn) are having enough problems already — their marriage is falling apart and he’s looking for a new job in New York City. Their son, Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark), is not handling this crisis well and obviously loves his father too much to face having him leave.

After Joseph hears that Elijah believes Dunn is an invincible superhero, he works on trying to convince his father that this is true. Dunn eventually tries to fulfill the role, leading to a surprise ending that only a schmo would reveal to the uninitiated.

Be prepared for flashbacks and a bit of confusion at first, but overall, the movie is very entertaining.

My partner, the Mystic, says, “Why would you want to review something like that? It’s a movie. It’s entertainment. You watch it and then forget about it.”

Well, my answer is that it is one of the best movies I saw this week. The others were filled with worse violence . . . obviously his picks not mine. I prefer chick flicks; he doesn’t.

I like the juxtaposition of opposites in Unbreakable - Dunn’s invincibilty vs. Price’s vulnerability - and appreciated the intensity of love Dunn’s son, Joseph, shows for him. Dunn rises from a troubled security guard to a self-actualized superhero, like a phoenix rising from the flames of distress and reprobate thought.

You will have to see the movie to understand what I just wrote. I think it was 106 minutes well-spent though it truly isn’t the most mystical and enlightening movie I’ve seen this year. This was the second movie I’ve seen that was directed by M. Night Shyamalan . . . I enjoyed his bit part in the movie . . . and I’ll be ordering his other movies from Netflix to see what they’re like. I expect I have a treat in store for me.