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Unbreakable
Buena Vista Pictures


6.0

based on 31 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 43 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for mature thematic elem

Starring Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright Penn, Spencer Treat Clark, Charlayne Woodard, and Eamonn Walker

David Dunn (Willlis) is the sole survivor of a devastating train wreck. Elijah Price (Jackson), a mysterious stranger, offers a bizarre explanation as to why David escaped without a single scratch, an explanation that threatens to change David's family and life forever. (Touchstone Pictures)

GENRE(S):	Suspense/Thriller
WRITTEN BY:	M. Night Shyamalan
DIRECTED BY:	M. Night Shyamalan
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: June 26, 2001 Video: June 26, 2001 Theatrical: November 22, 2000
RUNNING TIME:	107 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

New York Post Lou Lumenick

"The Sixth Sense" was no fluke. Unbreakable, writer-director M. Night Shyamalan's dazzling reunion with Bruce Willis confirms he's one of the most brilliant filmmakers working today.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

An exquisitely crafted film filled with little shocks and deep echoes of humanity. It'll stick with you.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Somberly fantastic new mystery thriller.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

Mesmerizing dark fable, which also contains moments of comedy and action that don't disrupt its oddly earnest tone

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

Willis gives a remarkable, wrenching performance: He is the most fragile indestructible man ever created.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

I was hooked from beginning to end.

Film.com Sean Means

Unbreakable shows Shyamalan as a rapidly maturing filmmaker, taking risks and making them pay off.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

It's rare that a a movie leaves you pinned to your seat, wanting to see it again -- right now, this minute -- to work out the pieces of the puzzle. Unbreakable is one of those movies.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Mr. Shyamalan may be the only mainstream director hankering for success with a need to understate; he is like Shaq without the tattoos. The result is a mastery of craft that may leave some hungry for more.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Even if the ending doesn't entirely succeed, it doesn't cheat, and it comes at the end of an uncommonly absorbing movie.

Chicago Tribune Marc Caro

The irony is that although Unbreakable is as compellingly watchable, stylish and intriguing as its predecessor, its ending has almost the opposite effect on the overall picture.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Ultimately, the film can't help but disappoint. Movies where you're continually waiting for the other shoe to drop are never as much fun as those where you never expected the first one to fall.

Mr. Showbiz Larry Terenzi

Seems truncated, incomplete -- mostly because the patented Shyamalan twist is revealed in the dénouement, not the climax.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Possesses sufficient intrigue to hook audiences and keep them on board much of the way.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Shyamalan's premise is a lulu, to be sure, but if you can manage that precious, tentative suspension of disbelief, you'll find Unbreakable a rewarding meditation on the nature of heroes, both comic book and otherwise.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

As absorbing as much of it is, Unbreakable winds up as a mild disappointment. But it leaves no question the hype around Shyamalan is well-deserved: This guy has a huge career ahead of him.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

"Sixth Sense" fans will be intrigued at first, then disappointed.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Whatever he (Shyamalan) did, he shouldn't have tried to send the same lightning bolt down to Earth in the same place.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

The movie feels oddly undercooked and aimless.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Far-fetched and utterly humorless, with a literally tacked-on conclusion (yes, more text on the screen), the only thing that's surprising about Unbreakable is how lame it is.

USA Today Mike Clark

Shyamalan's style is so exaggerated, with its long pauses and exacting rhythms of sound- vs.- silence, that it easily can engender eye-rolling and snickers.

Village Voice Dennis Lim

Soggy mysticism, nagging inconsistencies, and coarse horror-playbook jolts.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

The story grows sillier as it goes along, culminating in a final switcheroo that's about as deep as the comic-book ideas that inspired the plot.

San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann

Even the surprise ending arrives with a thud and makes us wonder why Shyamalan didn't try something new instead of recycling his "Sixth Sense" recipe.

Salon.com Ray Pride

For its perilous ambitions, Unbreakable has to be admired, but any ending that succeeds only in pulling the rug out from under a credulous, trusting audience has to be laughed at and called out for the extravagant nonsense that it is.

Newsweek David Ansen

This time out, Shyamalan the writer lets Shyamalan the director down badly.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

It would be foolish to deny that Unbreakable has scenes that make you jump, but without anything resonant to apply that skill to, the film has no option except squandering its technique.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

A film that begins with a train wreck and then, figuratively speaking, becomes one.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

A gloomy, preposterous psychological thriller.

Film.com Robert Horton

A big disappointment.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

A potentially interesting idea deflated by the absurd proclamations of an arch screenplay and smothered under the ponderous gravity of M. Night Shyamalan's dreary direction.

The average user rating for this movie is 6.0 (out of 10) based on 43 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Buster gave it a10:
Undoubtedly Shyamalan's most underrated masterpiece. It's brilliant in every way possible. Jackson and Willis probably should have gotten nominated for an Oscar or at least a Golden Globe. It's even better than The Sixth Sense, which is beyond overrated.

Miguel gave it a10:
A modern masterpiece. Great, great movie.

[Anonymous] gave it a1:
It is hard to review this film as a motion picture, because it feels more like TV soap opera on mute. The 1 hour and 47 minutes of boring, predictable and foolish sequences of silence in between unbelievably repetitive dialogue easily make this movie one of the most roll-your-eyes producing films I have ever gone threw. Bruce Willis plays the dull and slow-moving David Dunn, a lone and unharmed train wreak survivor who discovers that he is unable to sustain injury. Meanwhile, the emotionally unstable and easily injured Samuel L. Jackson plays the obviously brilliant yet deceiving psycho who thinks comic book heroes walk the earth. The movie unravels from somewhat interesting to boring. It takes most of the movie for what is at hand not to be dealt with, and you find yourself staring at the mysterious situation put forwards simply not breaking through with a much needed common thriller plot twist or breaking point. This is of course, until towards the very end. One central problem with the movie is that it is highly unlikely that one man would go his entire life without tripping or falling and wondering why there was no pain or injury. His mother would not wonder why he never got Chicken Pox? His father would never wonder why his knee did not bleed when he fell on it extremely hard during some catch? His wife would not wonder why when he slipped in the shower and smashed his head on the floor that he did not feel any pain? It just seems so unbelievably silly and impossible for this to happen and for nothing to be realized until a frickin train accident at the age of 40. The movie is essentially unrealistic beyond obvious proportions. The acting performances are easy and have no depth due to the pathetic script handed to the actors only to damage there impressive careers. It is a serious snoozer with a intriguing concept but its so poorly handled that it fails completely. Put simply, this movie is bad. If you wish to take my advice, avoid it by any means.

Sasha gave it a0:
Unbreakable It is hard to review this film as a motion picture, because it feels more like TV soap opera on mute. The 1 hour and 47 minutes of boring, predictable and foolish sequences of silence in between unbelievably repetitive dialogue easily make this movie one of the most roll-your-eyes producing films I have ever gone threw. Bruce Willis plays the dull and slow-moving David Dunn, a lone and unharmed train wreak survivor who discovers that he is unable to sustain injury. Meanwhile, the emotionally unstable and easily injured Samuel L. Jackson plays the obviously brilliant yet deceiving psycho who thinks comic book heroes walk the earth. The movie unravels from somewhat interesting to boring. It takes most of the movie for what is at hand not to be dealt with, and you find yourself staring at the mysterious situation put forwards simply not breaking through with a much needed common thriller plot twist or breaking point. This is of course, until towards the very end. One central problem with the movie is that it is highly unlikely that one man would go his entire life without tripping or falling and wondering why there was no pain or injury. His mother would not wonder why he never got Chicken Pox? His father would never wonder why his knee did not bleed when he fell on it extremely hard during some catch? His wife would not wonder why when he slipped in the shower and smashed his head on the floor that he did not feel any pain? It just seems so unbelievably silly and impossible for this to happen and for nothing to be realized until a frickin train accident at the age of 40. The movie is essentially unrealistic beyond obvious proportions. The acting performances are easy and have no depth due to the pathetic script handed to the actors only to damage there impressive careers. Put simply, this movie is bad. If you wish to take my advice, avoid it by any means

Peter N. gave it an8:
A refreshing take on the superhero theme. Not for people who think movies should always happily entertain. Not for the more pretentious art-filmers who can't get out of their own way. Thankfully, It's a movie for anyone inbetween.

Ken G. gave it a3:
Intriguing concept, which was really poorly handled.

Khalid gave it a9:
Great movie! I wanted to watch it again just to put all the hints in context. [***SPOILERS***] The ending was perfect in tone with comic books and comic book movies. Every superhero needs a villian.

Unbreakable Buena Vista Pictures

Unbreakable
Buena Vista Pictures