Unbreakable (Movie) Thoughts

Unbreakable is a superhero thriller film about the sole survivor of a trainwreck, questioning why he survived. David, (played by Bruce Willis) comes across an art dealer named Elijah (played by Samuel L. Jackson) who begins to convince him that he has superpowers, and who seems to be right.

It was followed up by the stealth sequel "Split" with a man suffering from DID kidnapping three teenagers, and both films were concluded with the apparently middling 2019 film "Glass".



SPOILERS:
David does actually have superpowers and finds a new path in life helping people with them at the end. However, it turns out that Elijah was behind the train accident, as well as others, all to cement his own purpose in life by creating a hero.

Unbreakable is a genuinely great deconstruction of the superhero concept, as well as a play on fate and consequent fatalism. The ludicrous static reality of “comic books” is juxtaposed against a brutally sobering, and subsequently dream-killing reality. Many illusions are made to literary styles, amongst other forms of storytelling. Elijah is compelling, especially with his idiosyncratic philosophy, unconcerned with the lives he’s taken, despite being pleasant and without ill-will in person. He’s merely fulfilling the role he sees himself as being given; this is to give himself a purpose. Kevin, initially seeming as a poorly-done insensitively stigmatizing character, is unveiled as a deeply conflicted hidden superhuman. His disturbed mental state makes him compelling, and intriguing to see interact with alongside the lucid David and Elijah. He serves as a companion and tool to Elijah, giving himself a clear purpose within the narrative.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

My favourite things: the tragedy of Oddworld, a lost classic

The War of the Worlds

Gabriel Dropout/Dropkick on My Devil