Few directors had as much buzz surrounding them heading into the new millennium as M. Night Shyamalan. The cultural impact of The Sixth Sense cannot be understated; the global box office was truly massive and it even managed to notch six Academy Award nominations. The perspective on Shyamalan has morphed over the years, but as we approached the release of Unbreakable in 2000 expectations were through the roof. Very few films could match the success of The Sixth Sense, but as a follow-up Unbreakable proved to be another homerun for the creative who was steadily building his reputation for twist-driven narratives. In the years since this release, we have gotten new chapters of varying quality in this saga with Split and Glass. Yet Unbreakable not only continues to stand on its own creatively, but ranks among the best films of Shyamalan’s career.
This tale gave us a superhero origin story before the market would become flooded in the decades to follow. Bruce Willis returns as the star once again, this time as ex-football player David Dunn whose glory days are well behind him. No one can believe it when he not only survives a horrific train crash that kills 130 other passengers, but emerges without a scratch. What most would write off as a fluke occurrence becomes the subject of obsession for Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), who leaves a cryptic note on David’s windshield outside of a memorial service inviting him to his art gallery. Elijah suffers from a brittle bone disease, which has fueled his interest in those who seemingly cannot be injured. Through his discussions with David, he makes him realize he has never been sick or injured, but when Elijah mentions his belief in superheroes it causes David to shut down. David can believe himself to be an ordinary man all that he wants, but as evidence starts building to the contrary he has to open his mind to the possibility along with what he could do with such abilities.
Shyamalan should be commended for the realistic manner he approaches the superhero genre without putting more gloss on it than necessary. David goes through all of the trials and tribulations of a burgeoning hero, but he does so trying to make his living as a stadium security guard. There is thoughtful consideration given to who David can possibly help as he bumps into people and gets a glimpse of some of the dark parts they are trying to hide from others. Willis has never been a transformative actor, but at this point he was still putting some effort into his portrayal. There is a quiet intensity to David that cannot be mistaken for detachment; David is one of the strongest performances delivered by Willis from this era. This is helped mightily by the presence of Jackson, who picks up the slack when it comes to needing a dynamic presence on screen. The more that we learn about Elijah we understand why he is a bit larger than life. He is just playing his part in this origin story to perfection.
This feature is impressive for the way it allows for such a contained story to feel as epic as Elijah envisions it just through careful plotting. When David fully embraces being a “hero” and sets sight on a malevolent target, the climactic confrontation is no more spectacular than your standard exceptional thriller. Despite what we believe we know about David, Shyamalan still manages to get our pulses racing when it comes to imagining what is around every corner. If this was the end of David’s journey, the film would go down as another solid entry from a rising master of suspense. There is more to the story, though, which allows it to level-up in quality. Shyamalan is synonymous with twist endings, but what he does in Unbreakable feels less like a “gotcha” moment than usual. This particular script feels like one of his most fully realized efforts to date. The filmmaker set out to make a thrilling comic book movie for himself, and the results are immensely compelling.
Video Quality
Unbreakable makes its long-awaited 4K UHD Blu-Ray debut with a stunning 2160p HDR10 transfer that allows the film to look much better than it ever has. When compared to the old Blu-Ray, this disc offers monumental improvements in all respects. That release was plagued with noise and dismal black levels, among other issues. This new 4K scan has a lovely amount of natural film grain that allows this movie to shine and gives a lot of pleasing texture and detail to the transfer. For the first time on home entertainment, you can clearly see specific text such as the name of certain comic books and some of the details of Elijah’s research. The image presents with a miraculous amount of depth that makes this dreary landscape feel more three dimensional than ever. The improvements in contrast and overall clarity are outstanding, especially when you look at the interior of David’s house and the clothing of various characters.
The UHD disc contains very deep colors throughout even with the prevalence of cooler tones due to the drab setting. The most impressive moments of HDR implementation are the contrast between the deep icy-blue and pitch black when light is injected into nighttime scenes. The exterior lights and flashlights give a nice burst of luminance that is impressive. White levels are brighter and offer a greater stability without veering into blooming. Black levels are extremely deep and allow the picture to maintain an excellent amount of depth and detail in darker environments. This especially comes in handy considering most of the movie takes place in overcast or shadows. Skin tones look more natural and the clarity of the transfer gives you a great amount of facial detail including perspiration and raindrops sliding down faces. This transfer is a treat for fans of the film. You honestly could not ask for better from the folks at Disney. For those who are curious, the included Blu-Ray is derived from the new remaster rather than the recycled old Blu-Ray.
Audio Quality
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray comes with a strong DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless audio track that offers a nearly perfect representation of the film. This is the same track from the previous Blu-Ray rather than a new Dolby Atmos presentation, but it is hard to fault the studio for not messing with what was not broken. The sound design opens up to the world in a really fulfilling way. The movie offers up plenty of chances for the track to show off with punches and crashes really giving the speakers a workout. In these scenes, the soundstage demonstrates how open and rich it is in its nuanced execution.
The score from James Newton Howard is presented with an impressive amount of clarity and fidelity. Music is used effectively throughout the presentation, but it never overpowers the dialogue or other important information. The dialogue comes through clearly and never falls victim to any digital anomalies. Rear speakers get a pleasing amount of activity throughout, especially when it comes to rain-filled scenes. The low-end support is hard hitting when the moment calls for it. The film could possibly stand to have slightly more raw power at its core, but for what it needs to accomplish there are no major complaints with this track.
Special Features
- Behind The Scenes: A 14-minute featurette which takes you through the production of the film from the initial script and beyond. There are some decent insights from the cast and crew about the differences between filming this feature and The Sixth Sense, the pace of shooting the film, some of the themes and more.
- Comic Books and Superheroes: A 19-minute piece which delves a little bit into the place of comic books in our culture, how the medium has evolved over the years and more that provides fairly unremarkable insights into the culture.
- Deleted Scenes: Seven scenes totaling nearly 29 minutes are included here which Shyamalan guides you through to give some context where these moments would have been and why they were omitted.
- The Train Station Sequence: An option to view this scene in storyboard or final form which allows you to see how the scene evolved from concept to execution.
- Night’s First Sequence: A nearly three-minute scene from a childhood film made by Shyamalan which is good for a laugh.
Final Thoughts
Unbreakable is one of the best films M. Night Shyamalan has ever released. The film gained renewed interest upon the release of Split and Glass, but the first standalone film still stands tall amongst them. The film is immensely entertaining and quite thrilling with a surprising narrative that holds up well to repeat viewings. Buena Vista Home Entertainment has released a new 4K UHD Blu-Ray which features a tremendous A/V presentation and a decent array of legacy special features. With this release, the film has finally been treated with the respect it deserves on home entertainment. Recommended
Unbreakable is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.