Unbroken (2014)

So much average

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

I know that it is hopeless to think that a movie can possibly live up to that of the original book, but come on Angelina? Really? This was a terrible terrible TERRIBLE adaptation of the story. There is absolutely no character development. You learn a total of two names the whole movie! I can't possibly imagine Zemperini himself would have given this "movie" more than 1 star. There is an obscene amount of development and crucial events left out of this film. All the heart and gut wrenching sections of the book are turned into a sloppy two second portrayal of entire chapters. I honestly think Angelina was sitting there thumbing through the book and thought "oh, we better put this CRUCIAL event into the movie, um. Louie, go stand over there and look dazed, perfect, got it." COME ON! It made me so sad to have read the book and then see this pathetic attempt to relay even a fraction of the story. SO SO SO SO much is left out. If I hadn't read the book I would have been completely lost. The Bird was a complete sociopath, absolute lunatic that I sincerely hope is somewhere very hot right now. This movie showed him as a disgruntled guard that was a little power hungry. COME ON, ANGELINA!!!!!!! At least try to put some depth to him. Did you even read the book?????? At the end of the movie I was so surprised that it was over. I thought this can't possibly be it. There is so much left out. Made me very very very sad to think that this is the movie representation that a great man is remembered by...... agh.....

The timeless contract between director and cinema-goer is to make us care about the movie, to change our thinking in some way, to transport us, to make our lives better. Unbroken does none of these. In some ways, it is similar to Scorsese's Silence, which is two hours of unremitting medieval torture, or Iñárritu's Revenant, which was diCaprio grunting through snow for 2+ hours.Jolie's Unbroken is a litany of Japanese cruelty and brutality. Up to a certain point, it shows how realistic WWII POW camps were, but this is not a documentary but a movie. It is meant, according to the unspoken contract mentioned above, to take the viewer on a journey, make him care about a character, see a character grow (even despite tremendous adversity), and give the viewer some kind of emotional cathartic satisfaction at the end.In Unbroken, though, Jolie minimalises any character growth in a rather spartan "show the viewers and let them figure out what is going on" methodology. As a result, Zamperini, our lead character, simply exists from one scene to the next. He does not show any emotional growth arc whatsoever. He simply takes all the multifarious beatings his captors give him as though that were enough. Ms Jolie, it is NOT. We need to see a character move as an active participant in the story, as a maker of events, not a passive recipient. To put it bluntly, here is the storyline (spoiler alert.)Zamperini gets captured. He gets beaten often and mistreated. The End. Sure there is a brief storyboard at the conclusion of the movie which fleshed out the character a little, but it is NOT ENOUGH. I suspect that Ms Jolie believed that the various scenes that she so treasured would trigger the same emotional responses in her audience as her, a sadly mistaken belief. Towards the end of the movie, I was badly needing Zamperini to DO something instead of just accept further beatings. We saw NOTHING of his internal journey, NOTHING of any form of resistance, NOTHING but an endless series of beatings and Watanabe, his tormentor, saying the same things over and over and beating him without any point at all.The end, when it came, was a glorious relief, and I say that in a negative sense. Count this a failure, Ms Jolie. Do better next time, if there is a next time.

(Flash Review)Go America! This movie certainly touches on American pride as many scenes illustrate American grit and determination in the face of adversity and fear. This movie follows the life of a young man who is fleet of foot enough to qualify for the Olympics as well as a strong- willed American soldier during WWII. The movie cuts between his childhood track days and his time as a soldier. There are many epic and well-produced battle scenes and Olympic settings yet leaves the viewer with a mix of bland and good emotions. Perhaps a lack any true surprises; you could see the plot arcs. Good acting from no-name actors. A few cliché moments but they blending into the storyline just fine. Simply put: a very well done period piece; entertaining with emotional hooks yet failed to truly grip you.

This is based on a true story but it gets boring when they are being filmed stranded in the ocean for half an hour. In addition, its repetitious to watch Zamperini get punched by the general. The film has great actors but lacked so much potential to be good. I think overall this could benefit from a refilm, so I give this a 6.Rating: D-