Review: Unbroken

Review: Unbroken
*Mild Spoilers Alert
  Do NOT forget to rate and comment on this post when you finish.

Official 'Unbroken' Poster.

      An unbelievably inspirational real life story, headed by "Angelina Jolie"'s second directing outing , 'Unbroken' certainly is one movie one must watch.

"Jack O'Connell".

"Finn Wittrock", "Domhall Gleeson"
and "Jack O'Connell".

      "Louis Zamperini"(Jack O'Connell) is an American boy who is the son of Italian immigrants. Though his childhood started very tough, he decided to take the advice of his brother 'If you can take it, you can make it' and make something of his life. He manages to develop as a track and field runner, where he eventually reached the Olympics back in 1936 to claim the Olympic record, impressed the world and became a famous athlete. But as soon as World War II starts, "Zamperini"'s dreams are shattered and his ambition to continue his athletic career vanishes. He, as many others, enlists in the army and starts battling the Japanese empire from the Pacific skies. But when his plane gets hit, he alongside few of his crew manages to survive in the middle of the ocean yet with little hope of survival. However, when the Japanese finds them the true meaning of hardship and pain will start to emerge. "Louis" will face a tough and gruesome battle of survival and will live a conflict of whether to preserve his and his country's honor or betray them. Other major characters include 'Russell Phillips'(Domhall Gleeson) 'Louis''s friend and crew member, Japanese Army sergeant 'Mutsushiro Watanabe' a.k.a 'The Bird'(Takamasa Ishihara), 'John Fitzgerald'(Garret Hedlund) American prisoner, 'Francis McNamara' a.k.a 'Mac'(Finn Wittrock), 'Charlton Hugh Cupernell'(Jai Courtney) 'Louis''s crew member, and 'Pete Zamperini'(Alex Russell) 'Louis''s brother.

"Garett Hedlund".

"Takamasa Ishihara".

      Movies that are based on real-life events or true stories are usually divided into two categories. The first movies are those that adapt the main idea or feel about true events to then construct a story to the liking of the writers, director, producers and studios. While the other category is formed of movies that preserve the reality of what happens and construct a movie to make sure that these real-life stories are being depicted in the most authentic way possible. 'Unbroken', which is based on the non-fiction book, written by "Laura Hillenbrand", portrays the 2 and half years of World War II hero "Louis Zamperini". Sometimes enjoying a movie means to look beyond the details in the film-making and embark on the true meaning of the film and the emotional journey it’s meant to be. Regardless of the job done by "Angelina Jolie" in her second outing as a director and other factors included(political innuendos), the heart of the movie depicts the resilience of "Louis" and his ability to survive the harshness, cruelty and inhuman treatment that this war gave a person, who decided to preserve his honor and fight for his country.

"Jai Courntey".

"Jack O'Connell".

      After the positive acclaim she received with her first movie as a director 'In the Land of Blood and Honey(2011)', "Angelina Jolie" was brought on to become the director of this very important movie. What "Jolie" excelled in my personal opinion is that she successfully brought forth the emotional complexities and fluctuations that "Louis" had to be enduring through this dark period of time. And throughout this difficult period(to say the least), the sense of hope and faith that "Louis" also had was also brought forward. But some shots as well as the movement of the movie felt a bit rough and at very few moments sloppy. The heart of the story was there. The script written by "The Coen" brothers (Joel and Ethan)('The Big Lebowski'), "Richard LaGravenese"('Behind the Candelabra') and "William Nicholson"('Les Miserables(2013)') was strong. But few blunt moments did diminish the sharpness and importance of certain moments. Composer "Alexandre Desplat"('Godzilla(2014)' and 'ZeroDark Thirty') gave a wonderful score that successfully elevated the emotions of the movie and moved in parallel with the entire movie.

"Domhall Gleeson".

'Unbroken'.

      Each part ,or one can even called them cohesive short movies, had a certain tone and feel to it, which reflected the story being told.The first part of the movie contained two elements; the story that showed us the "Louis" that we met right at the beginning of the movie, with the flying sequences that moved in a semi-synchronized manner. The rise of Olympic star "Louis" was fun to watch, yet a bit scarce with respect to what many were expecting. The flying sequences were actually one of the most enjoyable scenes of the entire movie, with beautiful shots and camera angles. Then comes the second half that shows us the suffering of the survival of the crash in the middle of the ocean, which was also an intense sequence, that reminded many of 'Life of Pi'. After that comes the third part which depicts the suffering of "Zamperini". This is where the movie excels at and the point where the building of the characters finally makes the audience form a connection and feel for what is actually happening. And surely the most memorable touching moment, which was included heavily in the promotion, was "Zamperini" holding the wood bar, where the intensity and suspense could be easily felt. And knowing that the real "Zamperini" got to see a rough cut and giving the thumbs up was nice to know.

"Jack O'Connell".

"Takamasa Ishihara", "Garett
Hedlund" and "Jack O'Connell".

      Even though "Angelina Jolie"'s status was utilized to sell the movie to the audience, along with the strength of the story, the one person that I personally felt was neglected in the press and during this year's awards season was newcomer "Jack O'Connell". 'Unbroken' will without a sheer doubt be the breakthrough performance of "Jack"'s career. Though he managed to garner few awards, being left out of the major awards such as the Academy Awards, was a huge disappointment and shock. The sheer charisma that he brought to the character, while managing to brilliantly portray and develop this character in a manner that respected the real-life person he was playing was the selling point of the entire movie and why it was a success. And not forgetting the real physical progression we witnessed, which also added volumes to his performance. Guess politics in Hollywood is still more important that talent. "Domhall Gleeson" gave a touching performance, "Garrett Hedlund" surprised with a husky performance, while "Finn Wittrock" convinced as 'Mac', same as "Jai Courtney". "Takamasa Ishihara", known as "Miyavi" famous Japanese singer, gave a subtle first feature performance creating an electrifying chemistry with "O'Connell"'s character, also one of the highlights of this movie. Playing the brutal 'Mutsushiro Watanabe' a.k.a 'The Bird' was just so perfectly strong, that many including me just wanted to punch the guy. That shows that his performance as the conflicted yet pure evil character was one of the best performances many have seen. The remaining supporting cast did a stellar job.

      'Unbroken' surely will become the classic movie, that managed to respectfully bring forward the story of a true war-hero to the big screen in an entertain cinematic manner and showed "Angelina Jolie"'s future as a director. 

Official 'Unbroken' Poster.

'Unbroken' Info:
-Based on: 'Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption' by "Laura Hillenbrand".
-Starring: Jack O'Connell, Domhall Gleeson, Takamasa Ishihara, Garret Hedlund, Jai Courntey and
Alex Russell.
-Studio(s): Jolie Pas, Legendary Pictures and Universal Stuidos.
-Director: Angelina Jolie.
-Screenplay by: Joel and EthanCoen, Richard LaGravenese and William Nicholson.
-Music by: Alexandre Desplat.
-Running Time: 137 minutes.
-Budget: $ 60,000,000.
-Box Office: -Domestic(US): $ 115,072,000.**
                     -Foreign: $ 44,800,000.**
-Ratings: -IMdb: 7.2/10.
                -Rotten Tomatoes: 50%.
                -Metacritic: 59%.

                -PERSONAL RATING: 8.7/10.

**Still Showing in Theaters Across the World.

-'Unbroken' Trailer: