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July 05, 2005
Top Ten Superhero Movies - Honorable Mention #1 - Unbreakable (2000)
Note regarding use of the term Honorable Mention in this series:
The "Honorable Mentions" aren't really honorable mentions in the traditional sense. They are great superhero movies that weren't counted with the others simply because they aren't based on a established property or did not have a theatrical release; all the ones on the list are adaptations from comic books, not original works.
Unbreakable would've been in the top 3 had it been counted with the others.
Honorable Mention #1 - Unbreakable
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Written by M. Night Shyamalan
Starring Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright Penn, Spencer Treat Clark
"You know what the scariest thing is? To not know your place in this world."
One of my favorite movies of all time and probably M. Night Shyamalan's best. This one doesn't make the list only because it's not based on a comic book, it is however all about comic books and a superhero. Unbreakable is perhaps the most realistic of all superhero films, it is one grounded in real life. What would you do if you found out you were a superhero? Would you fight for good? Defend the helpless?
When David Dunn (Bruce Willis) survives a trainwreck that leaves no other survivors, he is confronted by a mysterious man suffering from a rare bone disease who believes that it was not mere luck that saved David, but his own power. Is David really unbreakable? The film leaves us in suspence for nearly the entire film. Can he be killed? Is Elijah Price right? These questions build and build as director M. Night Shyamalan leads us down a path to the answers, and even a small twist.
Read this paragraph only if you have already seen the movie: When the film builds to its climax at the train station and then with the battle between David and the man in orange...you are witnessing two of the greatest scenes in movie history. The music, by James Newton Howard, is utterly powerful and all that has transpired before hand creates an unforgetable conclusion. The relevation that Elijah is David's archenemy "Mr. Glass" caps the film perfectly, and proves a traumatic blow to the audience. Not only are superheroes real, but so are supervillians.
Unbreakable features strong performances and stellar writing and directing. The cinematography and score and breathtaking, all leading to what feels like the beginning of true superhero legend. David Dunn is the true realistic superhero, and Samuel L. Jackson is forever memorable as his mentor and nemesis. If only this was the first film of a superhero trilogy as originally planned...
Posted by astor at July 5, 2005 10:20 PM