Unbreakable: Critic Reviews

90%
MovieWeb:   5 reviews
68%
RottenTomatoes:   50 reviews
  • Peter Rainer New York Magazine (Top Critic)
    Samuel L. Jackson plays a comic-book-art collector named Elijah, as in the prophet, and his stare could probably burn a hole through Superman's Fortress of Solitude.
    Full Review » 10 years ago
  • Andrew Sarris New York Observer (Top Critic)
    With Unbreakable , Mr. Shyamalan establishes himself as a distinctive auteur with a very personal style.
    Full Review » 5 years ago
  • Peter Travers Rolling Stone (Top Critic)
    Thrill-kill plots, cardboard characters and zap-pow editing are not for Shyamalan, who takes his good, thoughtful time to snare audiences in his dark web.
    Full Review » 11 years ago
  • Nell Minow Common Sense Media
    40
    Interesting premise, but ultimately disappointing.
    Full Review » 1 year ago
  • Nick Rogers Suite101.com
    100
    Sequel talk often sparks because this unconventionally contemplative comic-book film is M. Night Shyamalan's only idea worth continuing -a patient, downbeat and thrillingly unpredictable drama that still stands today as Shyamalan's visionary masterpiece.
    Full Review » 2 years ago
  • Felix Vasquez Jr. Cinema Crazed
    88
    Some audiences may find the ending silly, some may not find the ending a big deal, and some will be completely blown away. But you'll just have to watch and find out what the big deal is, won't you?
    Full Review » 3 years ago
  • Urban Cinefile Critics Urban Cinefile
    With all these superlatives, how could Shyamalan so badly misjudge vital elements to the story? The melodramatic elements take away substantially from much of what could otherwise be hailed as a masterpiece.
    Full Review » 4 years ago
  • Jim Lane Sacramento News & Review
    40
    The characters (especially Willis') are drab and uninteresting, and the story, even allowing for the supernatural overtones, is unconvincing.
    Full Review » 4 years ago
  • Steve Biodrowski ESplatter
    The old magic fails to re-materialize, thanks to overwrought melodrama and contrived plot developments.
    Full Review » 4 years ago
  • Stefan Birgir Stefansson sbs.is
    75
    a little too pretentious but still good
    Full Review » 4 years ago
  • Rob Gonsalves eFilmCritic.com
    80
    Shyamalan takes us in close, picking up sad and angry whispers; his people almost never raise their voices.
    Full Review » 5 years ago
  • Joe Lozito Big Picture Big Sound
    63
    The dialogue has more pauses than a High School production of Samuel Beckett. And while that works up to a point, you find yourself wanting to grab the characters and shake them out of their introspective stupors.
    Full Review » 5 years ago
  • Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid
    75
    Shyamalan has already established his own personal stamp for his films.
    Full Review » 6 years ago
  • Geoff Andrew Time Out
    Whereas The Sixth Sense left audiences surprised but surprisingly comfortable, this more mature and ambitious movie preserves its ambiguities and keeps everyone guessing.
    Full Review » 6 years ago
  • Steven Snyder Zertinet Movies
    75
    Remarkable, dark, and surprising.
    Full Review » 7 years ago
  • Jean-Francois Vandeuren Panorama
    90
    Un hommage fulgurant a la bande dessinee dont bon nombre des adaptations qui ont suivi auraient gagne a prendre comme exemple.
    Full Review » 7 years ago
  • Jeffrey Overstreet Looking Closer
    84
    Unbreakable is an extraordinarily quiet movie. Impatient audience members will probably give up on the movie early, and they'll miss out.
    Full Review » 7 years ago
  • Judith Egerton Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)
    75
    Shyamalan has a way to go before ascending to the level of Alfred Hitchcock, the uncontested master of psychological suspense, but he clearly wants to do so.
    Full Review » 8 years ago
  • Scott Nash Three Movie Buffs
    50
    Might have made an interesting episode of the X-Files, but it fails as a full length movie.
    Full Review » 8 years ago
  • Jim Shelby Palo Alto Weekly
    75
    When was the last time a big budget Hollywood thriller (with Bruce Willis, no less) came off as understated?
    Full Review » 9 years ago
  • John R. McEwen Film Quips Online
    90
    It is filled with interesting choices from behind the camera, giving a sometimes skewed perspective of the world, and meaningful silences in the dialogue, reminiscent of Pinter.
    Full Review » 9 years ago
  • Nick Davis Nick's Flick Picks
    25
    A depressing, definitive case of a film that experiences in its third and final act what one could either call, charitably, a total loss of its convictions, or, less charitably, a total brain aneurysm.
    Full Review » 9 years ago
  • Ron Wells Film Threat
    70
    I enjoyed the newer edition much more than last year's model.
    Full Review » 9 years ago
  • Philip Martin Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
    59
    ...the work of a movie-savvy intelligence who understands exactly what he's doing
    Full Review » 9 years ago
  • Matthew Turner ViewLondon
    40
    An oddly muted comic-book fable that treads a fine line between ridiculous and profound.
    Full Review » 10 years ago
Have you seen this Movie?
It's currently not in your ranks
Rank

Do you like Unbreakable?

AVG. RATING 4.3 GREAT
Rate This
!
78 people have rated this Movie
  • User Lists78
  • Comments1
More Movies Like This
Lady in the Water The Happening Signs No Country for Old Men Memento The Sixth Sense
Recent Activity
Fans of this Movie (0)
No one is a fan yet. Become a Fan.