UNBROKEN (2014) Unbroken is a film that I consider effective, but I would hesitate to call it great or even particularly good. That’s not to say that this isn’t a competent effort by Angelina Jolie and all involved. It kept my interest and I was fascinated to see just how far this movie would go. I found out all right. Here we have another WWII biopic, this time based on the New York Times Bestseller telling the story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympian athlete turned B-24 bombardier, turned castaway, turned abused P.O.W., turned inspirational hero. He is earnestly and bravely played by Jack O’Connell. Most of the focus is on our protagonist’s nightmarish experiences at the hands of the Japanese, specifically a cruel non-commissioned officer known as “The Bird” and ferociously brought to life by Miyavi. As Zamperini is beaten down and brutalized repeatedly so too is Angelina Jolie beating down and brutalizing the audience. Now the idea of Jolie torturing me for hours does sound appealing, but all levity aside this comprises precisely half the film. Little is shown of the Olympics or much of his early life. I was also informed by several irritated people who have read the book that Zamperini’s postwar activities including traveling to Japan and forgiving his former oppressors was left out. My suspicion is that the filmmakers wanted a singular, heavy focus in order to make it an Oscar contender by transforming it into a tale about spirit triumphing over adversity or something to that effect. In this film’s favor I might add that overall the direction was splendid. Jolie is clearly influenced by Clint Eastwood and she uses similar techniques, shot composition, color scheming, and his postmodern focus on characters. Never is attention broken away from the action to scenes back home, with the family, or any other crap that would have irritated me and detracted from the experience. Furthermore, schmaltzy BS is kept to a minimum, which is admirable. The opening B-24 raid on a Japanese held island and the resulting air battle was easily one of the best of its type I have seen in recent years, with well-edited action and a great introduction to our hero. The scenes of desperation, floating on rafts on the treacherous open ocean reminded me of All is Lost. The brief glimpses of WWII era Tokyo were fascinating and I wanted to see a tad bit more. It is also important to note that a heavy religious message runs right through the middle of this pic and your mileage may vary on how effective that will be. (The story is framed largely as one of Christian redemption.) And while critics are giving Unbroken mixed reviews, audiences are responding to it quite favorably. As for my evaluation, this is a decent prestige flick that needed a broader focus on this exceptional man’s life, and probably a little less torture. Zero Dark Thirty was water boarded by the Academy and the far political left and right for less, and that was widely considered the best film of that year! Still, keep this advisory in mind when planning to take your family to see it. I still think Fury had more gravitas and weight than any WWII drama this year or this decade for that matter. But that doesn’t necessarily win awards does it? -Joshua Wayne Sheetz aka The Batman https://youtube/watch?v=X8mBzKLhL0U
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 02:09:32 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015