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Ponderous follow-up from 'Sixth Sense' director

'Unbreakable': Not enough bumps in the night

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CNN interviews M. Night Shyamalan, along with stars Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson

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Movie trailer for 'Unbreakable'

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In this story:

One survivor

Slow pacing



(CNN) -- One thing is for sure: The thriller "Unbreakable" proves that writer/director M. Night Shyamalan is no flash in Hollywood's creative pan.

After the amazing success of his debut "The Sixth Sense" (1999), anything Shyamalan did next was bound to come under the most intense scrutiny. "Unbreakable" passes that inspection, but not without a few flaws duly noted.

It is not as tight and compelling as its predecessor, but still highlights Shyamalan's obvious talents. "Unbreakable" is slower in pace and darker in mood than "The Sixth Sense," though it does contain the same artistic sensibilities that were the hallmarks of that earlier film.

This supernatural tale stars a brooding Bruce Willis, who also starred in Shyamalan's first film. This time he's David Dunn, a security guard, unhappily married to Audrey, played by Robin Wright Penn. They have a son, Joseph, played by 12-year-old Spencer Treat Clark.

One survivor

While returning to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after interviewing for a job in New York, David is the improbable sole survivor of a catastrophe, a train wreck that kills 131 people. That brings him to the attention of Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), who has suffered his whole life from a debilitating bone disease that makes his body highly "breakable."

Throughout his years of pain and loneliness, he's immersed himself in the fantasy world of comic books, publications whose pages brim with superheroes. This has put him on a quest to find his opposite, someone "unbreakable" -- his own personal superhero in the making, perhaps?

That leads him to David, whose reaction to Elijah's theories takes center stage.

Unfortunately, none of the interpersonal relationships in the film -- between David and his wife, between David and his son, and most important, between David and Elijah -- never feel fully established.

Shyamalan's directing skills are impressive, and you get the feeling he's only just beginning to show us what he has in store for the future. It's obvious he's a great student of Alfred Hitchcock, and he seems to have the whole film cut in his head before he begins shooting. His uncanny sense of pacing and tone, his easy manipulation of mood through lighting and camera movement, all signal that a new and talented force is on the horizon.

Slow pacing

Shyamalan crowds his frames with action and visual information. He loves train stations, city streets and any other setting where he can create tension with an illusion of claustrophobia.

"Unbreakable" is ultimately about human destiny and a man at a crossroad in his life. Is his fate predetermined, or not?

This film is a different experience than "The Sixth Sense," as it should be. Though anchored as firmly in the supernatural as its predecessor, this story is slower and far more ponderous, dark and moody. The surprise ending here is telegraphed early, and therefore doesn't carry the same shock value as "I see dead people," the prophetic statement Haley Joel Osment uttered to Willis in "The Sixth Sense."

All three leads, Penn, Willis and Jackson, turn in low-key performances in this highly stylized, intimate ghostly story that comes mixed with comic-book superheroes and pop-culture cliches.

"Unbreakable" never really makes its point. Shyamalan is a brilliant filmmaker with a distinctive style, but he still needs substance. It would be nice to see him tackle a different genre altogether, or maybe direct something he didn't write.

"Unbreakable" opens nationwide on Wednesday. Rated PG-13. 107 minutes.



RELATED STORIES:
'Sixth Sense,' Willis winners at People's Choice Awards
January 10, 2000
'Sixth Sense' star: 'I do believe'
August 20, 1999
Review: 'Sixth Sense' takes time delivering thrills
August 5, 1999
Unbreakable

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