Unbreakable
The key to M. Night Shyamalan's "Unbreakable" is something that Samuel L. Jackson's character says midway through: "Life doesn't fit into little boxes that were drawn for it." This story of comic book heroes and villains is notable for its un-comic-like approach. Instead of rapid, kinetic visuals, it uses long, graceful shots and dialogue-heavy scenes. Instead of clipped, pragmatic exposition, we get lots of backstory, character development, and extraneous detail. Shyamalan doesn't box his story in.
The story begins as Joseph Dunn (Bruce Willis) survives a train wreck in which all the other passengers are killed. Not only does he survive, he walks away without a scratch. His doctors are amazed, the media is fascinated, and his wife and child seem strangely unsurprised. Soon after this, Joseph finds a strange note under his windshield, which causes him to think back on his life. He realizes he has never been sick. He has never been injured in any way.
He traces the note to a comic art gallery run by Elijah Price, AKA Mr. Glass. (Samuel L. Jackson). Glass has a kooky theory that comic book heroes and villains are based on certain types of real people, and that Joseph may be one of these.
The rest of the movie follows Joseph as he tries to dismiss Glass's claims as the ravings of a lunatic, but finds the idea more and more plausible as he discovers things about himself he didn't know, and reveals things he had long kept secret. Even though the truth seems pretty obvious to the viewer from the outset, Shyamalan provides enough interesting clues and red herrings to keep us from feeling too certain. He also provides interesting backstories for Dunn, Glass and their families. (My favorite character was probably Glass's mother, and she was only in a couple of scenes.) There are times when the "supernatural" elements start to feel silly and out of place in the middle of the human drama. (Joseph's supposed "superhero weakness" is ridiculous, plus it was also used by Shyamalan in another film!) However, the movie saves itself from ridiculousness by never revealing too much and always leaving a little wiggle room for a "normal" explanation.
My biggest complaint about "Unbreakable" is that it is a little too subdued. As I said before, it intentionally avoids being too colorful and hyperactive, but it could have used a jolt of adrenaline in places. The train wreck sequence builds up some suspense - and then cuts away to some photos on the evening news. A climactic rescue sequence grabs the viewer's attention, but the movie just hasn't built up the momentum to make it truly thrilling. Only the well-prepared jolt of the last five minutes really got my heart pounding. (The last line is the best line of the movie.)
Despite its caveats, "Unbreakable" is highly entertaining and rarely entirely predictable.
Should you see it? Yes.