There are so many fantastic thriller movies from Hollywood. Some of the newest ones to come out of the ritz and glamour of a big-budget affair are Annabelle Comes Home, Pet Semetary, and Glass. Unbreakable is the first installment in the superhero film series and this is where David Dunn (Bruce Willis) begins his journey. The Unbreakable trilogy is followed by Split (2016 on Netflix) and Glass (2019.)
It’s entirely possible to watch these films out of order. I did, having started with Split. Then I went back and watched the first installment and was more than surprised at just how comic book-related it was. It’s almost as if Shyamalan decided to write a story about superheroes in their purest form. That’s what makes these films special and why I wanted to share this three-part series of reviews on the films with you.
Unbreakable (film series) Movies
The next review for the Unbreakable film series Split can be found here and Glass can be read here.
In Unbreakable, the main protagonist is played by Bruce Willis as David Dunn and is the focus of the first story. The reason you can watch these out of order is due to the restrained nature of flashbacks that feature in the last film of the trilogy, Glass. The flashbacks in Glass pertain to elements in the Unbreakable film. Split didn’t feature Dunn’s character at all, but you do see him briefly. Split is by far the least comic book-like film in the series, and it’s also my favorite.
It’s For Superhero Fans Who Don’t Like Superheroes
If you love superheroes, Unbreakable isn’t just your run-of-the-mill thriller movies from Hollywood. Especially if you aren’t overjoyed with the usual fanfare that comes with the mainstream choices. Aside from The Beast, introduced in Split, there are no tentacles, gnashing elongated teeth, metal arms, legs, or eyes. You will find no laser beams here. These films are more of a character study of deconstructed superheroes where you really get a sense of each individual. Even if there are 23 individuals inside one person, it’s the stories within the stories here that are impressive. If you’ve read my reviews before, you’ll know I love a character-driven film.
Rather than the straightforward storyline you usually get with movies of this type, this trilogy creates an origin story to every superhero story ever made. It compartmentalizes comic books as an unofficial historical account of people with inhuman abilities. It mashes all of the rules associated with comic book characters and peels away the overtness of it all. Then it follows the basis of all the components in a comic book story and waves it in front of you without the costumes. By placing everybody outside caves, or in underground hideouts and without reckless cackles from villains, it’s just a normal world with remarkable people.
Unbreakable, The Characters
Just one of many of the Unbreakable film series movie characters and a favorite of mine, Mr. Glass
Who Do We Meet in Unbreakable?
5-year-old Kevin Wendell Crumb and his mother Mrs. Crumb
For a brief moment, David Dunn bumps into the pair as they walk by.
David Dunn
Although David has never been ill or injured and slowly discovers he has increased strength, he does not believe he is special.
His weakness is water. As he also can’t swim, this combination is less than ideal. Glass points out he can be choked and drown more easily than usual. With his abilities in strength not completely honed, David perceives himself to be unspectacular.
Through the three films, he does discover his strength builds quickly. He was easily able to train himself to be able to lift about 160 kg. However, his value lies in discovering he can tap into visions from people who commit crimes if he touches them. With the practice of these skills, he becomes proficient at vigilanteism and does so under a black coat as covertly as possible.
Mr. Glass aka Elijah Price
“Do you know what the scariest thing is? To not know your place in this world, to not know why you’re here. That’s – that’s just an awful feeling.”
— Elija Price quote from Mr. Glass
Steeling his resolve against a world that has shown him little mercy, Elija’s narrative is a complex tapestry, woven with strands of brilliance and vengeance. His birthright was a fragile form, but with it came an indomitable spirit—an anti-heroic ethos reshaping weakness into a calculated strength. Scorned and belittled, he emerged not with a heart seeking acceptance but one hungry for retribution. His genius, undeniable and incisive, isn’t squandered on noble pursuits. Instead, it’s a sharpened tool that carves a path through the shadows, where Elija reigns not as a victim but as a formidable architect of schemes driven by his own brand of justice.
Comic Book Connoisseur – Unbreakable Trilogy Series
Mr. Glass is a comic book expert and brings forward his theory of them being used as historical guidelines within his research into the extraordinary. So fixated is he in his quest to discover evidence of his beliefs that he orchestrates mass terrorism and disasters.
Due to his extreme fragility and ability to relate to the comic book world, he imagines himself to be on the bottom of the extreme of human frailty. That for every example like him there must be an equal at the other end of the scale. Someone who is unbreakable.
Unbreakable – Start at the Beginning of David Dunn’s Journey
Unbreakable sets to draw the curtain back from what exactly a superhero is. Comprising of the furthest extremes, that is, someone who is unbreakable and someone who is not. But who wants to know and why?
The whole film concentrates on dialogue and there are times when you’ll feel like time is just ticking away when you could be watching something more exciting.
In this story, we learn everything about everything though. We learn about Dunne’s relationship with his wife and his son. His regrets and his ability to overlook something that’s been inside him his whole life. We learn about Elijah and get a brief but explanatory introduction to someone who also knew he was different in some way but his journey to figure out what that means was completely different.
Searching his whole life for Mr. Glass
Together they seem like the perfect mentor and mentee and go about their acquaintance learning and questioning all that they have known throughout their lives. Both become strong having met and more in tune with their inherent traits simply by meeting each other.
By the time the film ambles to a close, the biggest of secrets is revealed. It’s no wonder this film is a cult classic and when it was first released was met with a ‘meh’ response. It’s only when tied into the trilogy that not only does it become more special but highlights the long game Shyamalan has been playing since the beginning. Had the esteemed and prolific filmmaker Night taken less than 7 years to get the second film out, perhaps the momentum wouldn’t have been so stilted.
The Unbreakable movie is rated
4 deconstructed superheroes out of 5
SUPERHERO MOVIES: Brightburn review. / BEST HORROR MOVIE: Pet Sematary gets a face life in 2019
Unbreakable Trailer
Unbreakable Trilogy Movies With David Dunn Starts Here - Mother of Movies
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Date Created: 2000-11-14 21:56
4
Pros
- Storyline
- Awesome characters with excellent backstories
- Brilliant cast
- Cinematography that will blow your mind
Cons
- Narrative trickles to a close and is improved by the rest of the series
