Before he even started shooting it, M. Night Shyamalan’s “”Unbreakable”” was destined to fail. Tagged as the follow-up project to the director’s enormously engrossing, and equally successful, thriller “”The Sixth Sense,”” Shyamalan’s project faced insurmountable expectations and a boatload of hype.
Moviegoers demanded a surprise ending to rival “”Sense”” and the studios wanted an audience-grabber that would fill seats and set box office records. What they got instead was a gorgeous, muted and positively enthralling comic book drama with a tacked on twist that unanimously alienated its audience and never received the credit it deserved. “”Unbreakable”” starts with an irregular birth. Elijah, a baby born with a rare protein deficiency that makes his bones extremely fragile, breaks both arms and both legs in the delivery process. His childhood, we learn, is marked with similar situations, earning him the nickname “”Mr. Glass”” from his harsh peers. As a tool to get him out of the house, Elijah’s mother introduces her child to the world of comic books, a fantasy universe populated with characters that don’t seem so strange to this unique boy.In Elijah’s mind, the world of comic books merely represents an exaggerated form of reality, the way cave drawings in prehistoric times reflected actions of the cavemen. He believes real heroes walk the Earth, and by his logic, if a fragile being like he exists, then there has to be an indestructible being out there as well. His existence would define Elijah’s place in the world, which truly is the delicate man’s dream. Now a grown-up comic art collector, Elijah (Samuel L. Jackson) has dedicated his life to finding his soul mate and believes he’s found it in David Dunn (Bruce Willis). Dunn works security at the local college. He’s desperately trying to hold up his end of a failed marriage, and his young son worships him a bit too much. When David becomes the sole survivor of a fatal train wreck, Elijah comes calling, but Dunn can’t seem to answer Elijah’s simple question, “”How many days of your life have you been sick?”” The answer, and the consequences that stem from it, winds up changing both men’s lives in a way we only see in comic books. Ignoring the flashy, wondrous paths taken by superhero movies of the past like Joel Schumacher’s “”Batman”” installments or Richard Donner’s “”Superman,”” “”Unbreakable”” patiently maps out both the birth of a true hero and the villain who creates him. Shyamalan bathes his film in moods and shadows. The majority of the action takes places either at dusk or in the dead of night, or at least it feels like it does. As he did in “”Sixth Sense,”” Willis delivers his lines in a series of hushed tones and barks, but his eyes give way to a man discovering the extent of his power and, in turn, his destiny. Jackson dials down for Elijah, as well, but it takes nothing away from his abilities as a convincing actor. It’s Elijah’s role to convey the comic lore not only to David but to the audience, a pivotal factor in “”Unbreakable’s”” success. Both men, who have worked together before and will hopefully work together again soon, deliver subtly moving work that accentuates the film’s positives. DVD FEATURES Disney is using the “”Unbreakable”” disc to launch their Vista Series, which will enhance titles in the studio’s library that they feel deserve more attention on DVD. Working closely with the director, Disney has released a fantastic 2-disc set, divided thematically, as the film was, into David’s side and Elijah’s side. The first disc presents the movie with enhanced digital imagery and an unmistakably haunting score by James Newton Howard (“”The Fugitive””). Fans of director commentaries will miss one by Shyamalan, however the director does give his opinion through a series of introductions to the deleted scenes over on disc two.Also on the second disc, all awash in purple to signify Elijah, we find a behind the scenes feature, a separate feature about comic book heroes that interviews several artists, a multi-angle look at the train station sequence where Willis’ Dunn chooses his target, some excerpts from Shyamalan’s early films, and a look at the director’s first fight sequence. The DVD package also comes with two pieces of art, specifically commissioned by the studio, from popular Marvel Comics artist Alex Ross. One depicts Elijah in all his purple glory, while the other shows David in his makeshift hero costume, a perfect addition to a fine disc.Final Grade: A-