Writer-director M Night Shyamalan creates another surreal journey. Will this new film measure up to the imaginative plot and brilliant subtleness of his previous film, "The Sixth Sense"?

Bruce Willis stars as David Dunn, a burnt-out ex-football hero who is watching his home life melt in front of him. Dunn is returning to his home via train when the train is involved in a horrendous train wreck. Dunn awakens in a dimly lit hospital room where he is confronted by a doctor. The doctor explains that it is a miracle that Dunn was able to walk away from the train wreck unscathed and without a scratch. Dunn begins to show signs of deep guilt and as he walks into the waiting room his son embraces him. All the train wreck victims families watch as Dunn's son guides him out of the hospital.

Days pass and Dunn's life really doesn't change except for the huge amount of guilt placed on his shoulders. After attending the funeral for the train wreck victims, Dunn opens a mysterious envelope on his windshield. The note says, "How many days of your life have you been sick?" Doing a little investigative work off the note, Dunn finds himself inside this comic book art gallery called "Limited Edition". The name of the owner is Elijah Price (Samuel L Jackson) and he asks Dunn some interesting questions. He also tells him how much of a miracle it is to see a man walk away from a train wreck. Price also speaks of his genetic condition where his bones break very easily and his only true escape from that pain was the world of reading comics. Price often uses comicbook references to describe the way society operates stating that comics are often tales passed down like folktales of old. What does this tortured man have to do with a train wreck survivor? Is Dunn really a freak of nature? Is there logic to Elijah's thinking or are these just fantastic stories?

A couple months back DC Comics released a small series of comics called "Realworlds" which was a spin-off on their popular "Elseworlds" series. In Realworlds, the essence of the hero-what it means to be a hero-comes through, as truly human beings are inspired to a level of passion, nobility and greatness worthy of the heroes themselves.

As I listened to the Price character talk to Dunn about the comics I related back to the conception of what makes a hero and that "Realworld" series. Was the Realworld concept being played in this film? In a lot of the mysterious conversations between Price and Dunn we do have the concept beginning to develop. But what I liked about Shyamalan's plot was the reluctance of Dunn and Price's obsession. I loved how the script would challenge the characters and the audience. Which character is right here?

The film has a great plot and some intriguing situations. However, I still had some problems with the film's layout, and the eventual finale. I have stated this before in some of my other reviews about the necessity of film pacing. Shyamalan is infamous for putting together a very subtle story with incredible circumstances. (ala the Sixth Sense) Personally, I think that here he should have turned up the notch some. In the "Sixth Sense" subtly was good as tried to enter the world of a boy. But in this film we really needed some energy and in some circumstances I wanted the Price character to interject with some much needed mysticism. For a lot of the film, I was wondering when it was going to pick up. I really liked the character of Elijah Price more than the Dunn character. I could feel for Elijah and I think the stairs scene was the key to showing this man's struggle. Seeing the depth of the Price character, I asked myself would the Dunn character have been more intriguing if he was a cop instead of a security guard? Or was Shyamalan aiming for extreme subtlety in Dunn.

As the film concludes I felt a little dismayed that it ended so abruptly. Was the end rushed in hopes that audiences will return to see if there unanswered questions were found in the film. (ala the Sixth Sense) And what exactly is Dunn? Write me here if you think you know.

Trying to live up to the intensity of the "Sixth Sense" is kind of like what happened with Blair Witch 2 earlier this year. It's impossible to carry on the same feeling from the previous film without telling the same story again. Unbreakable looks and feels very much the same as the "Sixth Sense" but internally it's vastly different.

(3.5 of 5) So Says the Soothsayer.

Elijah Price was born with a rare genetic bone disorder that makes his skeleton very brittle and prone to breakage. As a child growing up in Philadelphia kids used to call him Mr. Glass. Through all of his torment and pain the now adult Elijah Price had developed a theory, if there was someone on this planet as brittle as himself shouldn't there be someone on the other end of the spectrum who was virtually indestructible? One day there was an incredibly bad train wreck in which everyone who was on board perished horribly except for one man, David Dunn, who left without a scratch on him. David Dunn, according to Price, is the man who can't be broken. Price, an avid collector of comic book art, is convinced that Dunn was put on this Earth for a higher purpose than the one he's currently living and Price makes it his goal to convince David Dunn of his almost super abilities.

Plot: Wow....wow. M. Night. Shyamalan, director/writer of The Sixth Sense, has a talent for writing engaging stories with simple down-to-Earth characters and Unbreakable continues with this trend. First and foremost this film is NOT The Sixth Sense. Yes both movies share a similar visual style, but Unbreakable is not a creepy psychological horror picture, its a beautifully crafted reluctant hero story that manages to pull the audience into the movie's slightly augmented reality. As with Shyamalan's other work this movie also contains a plot twist at the end albeit not a shocking as the one in The Sixth Sense it still forces the audiences to reevaluate the entire movie. In my personal opinion Shyamalan deserved the $5 million, most ever for a screenplay, that the studio paid him for this film. The plot is so intriguing, it's like a comic book deeply set in the roots of reality. Shyamalan has a great talent for writing and I can't wait to see what he has in store next. *****(out of five)

Acting: The character Elijah Price could break at any moment one small spill and every bone in his body would be shattered, needless to say a character who is constantly in pain would be hard to play, but Samuel L. Jackson does the role like he was born for it. He creates this incredibly powerful personality in the frailest of bodies. In every scene Jackson creates this sense of constant anguish being battled every moment, truly astonishing. I never felt so personally attached to a film character in my life. The performance was simply astounding. The reluctant hero of David Dunn is similar in many was to John McClane, from the Die Hard series, James Cole, form Twelve monkeys, Major Korben Dallas, from The Fifth Element, and even Dr. Malcolm Crowe, from the Sixth Sense. Of course Bruce Willis plays the tortured hero role well, but his done it before (at least 4 times before if not more). Plus, his performance in Unbreakable isn't nearly as good as his performance in Twelve Monkeys (Which was also set in Philadelphia like Unbreakable and The Sixth Sense). Then again this film would be nothing without Willis' strong performance so in that sense he did a fantastic job. For audience members who are looking for the next Haley Joel Osmet you're going to be disappointed. Although Spencer Treat Clark does a great job playing David Dunn's son Joseph he isn't the same kind of actor that Osmet is plus his character isn't as vital to the storyline as Osmet's was in The Sixth Sense. ****1/2(out of five)

Directing: M. Night Shyamalan (An NYU film graduate for those who are keeping track) is a truly talented individual. His filmmaking style in this film is even more refined than that of his work in the Sixth Sense...which was an excellent directing job in the first place. Shyamalan wields the film camera like Michelangelo wields a brush, premeditated perfection. The kind of emotion that the imagery ALONE invokes is the stuff of text books for film students, this is how true drama should be. Every single movement of the lens is done for a purpose not just for flair or wow-factor, but for art. Shyamalan is able to invoke career best performances out of his actors., expect to hear this films name around Academy Award time. The whole film is composed to perfection. Thoroughly enjoyable. *****(out of five)

Music: Unbreakable is composer James Newton Howard's 82nd film since his first major score in 1986. Ever since the days when Howard dropped out of USC's prestigious music program (USC's Film program is the biggest rival and perhaps superior to NYU's film program) to tour with Elton John he has been making great scores. Any audience members who have seen The Sixth Sense will immediately recognize the style of Unbreakable (Howard composed The Sixth Sense), but what the score to Unbreakable does that the score to Sixth Sense did not was create a recognizable consistent theme. The emotionally jarring score to this film is the perfect supplement to the performances on screen, even after 82 films Howard has not lost sight of what he is composing. If only it wasn't so similar to The Sixth Sense. ****(out of five)

Special Effects: Unbreakable is not an effects film. Yes there were effects in the movie, but this film was definitely plot-driven and the special effects reflect that. The Secret lab, formerly Dream quest Images, headed up the effects for this film creating an eerie memory visual for all of the journeys into the mind. Hard to describe, but extremely effective. The majority of their work consisted of invisible effects (Composites, wire removal, color correction, etc.). All in all a good effort. ****(out of five)

Bottom Line: Unbreakable is NOT The Sixth Sense, but it stands proudly by itself nonetheless. Not a family film, but great for teenagers and adults alike. ****1/2(out of five)