Unbreakable (2000)

Shyamalan shot a superhero origin story like a funeral, and depending on your mood that’s either genius or a nap. Shots hold so long you start checking if the stream froze. Bruce Willis plays David Dunn like a man who misplaced his smile years ago and never filed a report. Then Samuel L. Jackson rolls in as Elijah, purple coats, glass cane, total conviction, and the movie wakes up every time he opens his mouth. The weight bench scene, with David’s kid stacking on more plates, is legit tense, which is wild for a scene about lifting. Problem is the pace. It treats comic books like scripture and forgets to have any fun with them, and opening night crowds handed it a C CinemaScore for that. Still, those 106 minutes of slow gloom hold up better than they have any right to. A 7.7 because it did grounded superhero drama before that was a whole genre, and Jackson is magnetic. $1,331 says you try to bench one plate past your max just to see, then quietly put it back.

What works: Samuel L. Jackson’s Elijah is magnetic, and the quiet, grounded take on a superhero origin still feels fresh.

What doesn’t: The pacing crawls, the marriage subplot with Robin Wright goes nowhere interesting, and Willis plays sad on a single note.

Who it’s for: Comic book fans who want a superhero story with no costumes and a lot of brooding, plus anyone with patience for a slow burn.