It's almost tempting to think of Unbreakable as a sequel to The Sixth Sense. Same writer/director (M. Night Shyamalan), same lead (Bruce Willis), same location (Philadelphia), same mood (eerie), same overall premise (B.W. trying to cope with a subtle supernatural phenomenon). But don't worry; this time there's no kid who sees dead people. The characters and the plot twists are all new... and improved!
Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) has a genetic defect that makes his bones extremely brittle. Feeble and fragile, as a child he is tempted to give up on life, but he finds his salvation in comic books. He grows up to be a wealthy and successful comic art gallery curator. He takes interest when David Dunn (Bruce Willis) emerges as the sole survivor of a horrendous train crash. David is Elijah's absolute polar opposite. He enjoys an amazingly strong constitution, but he suffers from melancholy and wanders aimlessly through life while his marriage and his career sag.
Elijah suspects that David might be the real-life embodiment of the physically invincible comic book hero mythology. Indeed, that would go a long way towards explaining how he walked away without a scratch. Prior to the wreck, David's heroic abilities (and attitudes) were very much suppressed, and only gradually does he come to accept that Elijah could be right.
As in the previous movie, there is a twist that you probably won't see coming, but once they hit you with it, it makes perfect sense. It's a good one, too. Much better, I thought, than the "zinger" in Sixth Sense.
The script was written with Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson in mind, which explains how they fit in their roles so well. In my opinion, each actor make his strongest showing since the both of them were in Pulp Fiction (I'm trying not to remember how the two also collaborated on Die Hard 3). Director M. Night Shyamalan is in even better form than before, spinning an interesting yarn and maintaining a healthy amount of tension.
Truth be told, I really couldn't find much fault with this movie. True, I didn't believe the characters and the storyline as much as I might have, but I didn't let that keep me from enjoying Unbreakable for what it is: a sinister, clever and well-crafted suspense movie that successfully caught me off my guard. If you enjoyed The Sixth Sense, you'll get an even bigger kick out of this film.