Editing Unbreakable (film) (section)

=== Critical response {{anchor|Critics}} ===
''Unbreakable'' received generally positive reviews from critics. On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has an approval rating of {{RT data|score}} based on {{RT data|count}} reviews, with an average rating of {{RT data|average}}. The website's critical consensus states, "With a weaker ending, ''Unbreakable'' is not as good as ''The Sixth Sense''. However, it is a quietly suspenseful film that intrigues and engages, taking the audience through unpredictable twists and turns along the way."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/unbreakable|title=Unbreakable (2000)|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]]|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}}{{RT data|edit}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a score of 62 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref name="metacritic">{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/unbreakable |title=Unbreakable Reviews |publisher=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=July 17, 2020 }}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.<ref name="CinemaScore">{{cite web |url=https://www.cinemascore.com/ |title=Unbreakable |publisher=[[CinemaScore]] |access-date=July 17, 2018}}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] of [[Chicago Sun-Times]], gave ''Unbreakable'' 3 out of 4 stars and had largely enjoyed the film, but was disappointed with the ending. Ebert believed that Willis's "subtle acting" was positively different from the actor's usual work in "brainless action movies".<ref>{{cite news | date = November 22, 2000 | author = Roger Ebert | author-link = Roger Ebert | title = Unbreakable | url =https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/unbreakable-2000 | work = [[Chicago Sun-Times]] | access-date = January 1, 2022 }}</ref> [[Richard Corliss]] of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' opined that ''Unbreakable'' continued Shyamalan's previous approach of "balancing sophistication and horror in all of his movies".<ref>{{cite magazine | author = Richard Corliss | title = Scary And Smart | url =https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,994783,00.html | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080408155013/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,994783,00.html | url-status =live | archive-date =April 8, 2008 | magazine = [[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date = August 2, 2004 | access-date = December 1, 2020 | author-link = Richard Corliss }}</ref> [[Desson Thomson]] from ''[[The Washington Post]]'' wrote that "just as he did in ''The Sixth Sense'', writer-director M. Night Shyamalan leads you into a fascinating [[labyrinth]], an [[Parallel universes in fiction|alternative universe]] that lurks right under our noses. In this case, it's the mythological world and, in these modern times, the secret design to that labyrinth, the key to the path, is contained in comic books."<ref>{{cite news | author = Desson Thomson | title = 'Unbreakable': Unrelentingly Gripping | newspaper = [[The Washington Post]] | date = November 24, 2000 | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/entertainment/movies/reviews/unbreakablehowe.htm | access-date = December 20, 2008 | author-link = Desson Thomson}}</ref>

[[Kenneth Turan]], writing for the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', gave a negative review, arguing that ''Unbreakable'' had no originality. "Whether it means to or not, the shadow of ''The Sixth Sense'' hangs over ''Unbreakable''," Turan reasoned. "If ''The Sixth Sense'' hadn't been as big a success as it was, this story might have been assigned to oblivion, or at least to rewrite."<ref>{{cite news|author=Kenneth Turan |url=http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-movie001121-3,0,4110177.story |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |title=An 'Unbreakable' Sense of Déjà Vu |date=November 21, 2000 |access-date=December 20, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622010752/http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-movie001121-3%2C0%2C4110177.story |archive-date=June 22, 2008 |author-link=Kenneth Turan |url-status=dead }}</ref> Todd McCarthy of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' mostly criticized Shyamalan's writing and the performances given by the actors. He did praise [[Dylan Tichenor]]'s editing and [[James Newton Howard]]'s music composition.<ref>{{cite news | author = Todd McCarthy | url = https://variety.com/2000/film/reviews/unbreakable-1200465268/ | work = [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | title = Unbreakable | date = November 20, 2000 | access-date = March 2, 2022 | archive-date = March 21, 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220321020426/https://variety.com/2000/film/reviews/unbreakable-1200465268/ | url-status = dead }}</ref>

In 2002, Audrey Colombe described the movie's plot as an example of what "[[Toni Morrison]] calls a 'dehistoricizing allegory,'" with the Elijah Price character as yet another example of "White Hollywood"'s "[[Magical Negro|magical African American male character]]" helping the [[White savior narrative in film|white hero]] do the right thing, though Elijah is described as a rare exception to the rule that this character is "never 'bad'".<ref name="ejumpcut01a">{{cite journal | url= https://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/jc45.2002/colombe/ |title= White Hollywood's new Black boogeyman |first= Audrey | last = Colombe | issue = 45 | journal = Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media |date=October 2002 |quote=Unbreakable's plot is what Toni Morrison calls a "dehistoricizing allegory," story telling that leaves difficult and inconvenient history aside ... What's remarkable about the recent magical figure ... Unbreakable presents Elijah (Samuel L. Jackson), a disturbed and fragile man who is compelled to help David (Bruce Willis), the "unbreakable" White man, realize his ability to conquer evil with good. ... The Black male figure is never "bad" in the final evaluation; the exception here is Elijah Price in Unbreakable who is, bizarrely enough, trying to convince the main White character to help curb his (Price's) own evil actions. |access-date =December 3, 2006 }}</ref>

Shyamalan admitted he was disappointed by the reaction ''Unbreakable'' received from the public and critics.<ref name=sequel2002>{{cite magazine | author = Daniel Fierman | title = Night of the Living Dread | url = https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,333419,00.html | magazine = [[Entertainment Weekly]] | date = August 2, 2002 | access-date = December 19, 2008 | archive-date = May 16, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070516184431/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,333419,00.html | url-status = dead }}</ref> Shyamalan also disliked [[Touchstone Pictures]]' marketing campaign. He wanted to promote ''Unbreakable'' as a comic book movie, but Touchstone insisted on portraying it as a [[psychological thriller]], similar to ''The Sixth Sense''.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/02/business/media/02night.html |title= Shyamalan's Hollywood Horror Story |work= The New York Times |access-date= January 23, 2009 |last= Weiner |first= Allison Hope |date= June 2, 2008}}</ref>