6/10

Have you ever heard the saying “Too much of a good thing can be bad”? That is the problem facing the newest film from actor/director Angelina Jolie. “Unbroken” is a much better improvement from her other directing efforts, but it also shows that she has a long way to go before becoming a master of her craft. “Unbroken” is an war drama that follows the incredible life of Olympian and war hero Louis “Louie” Zamperini (Jack O’Connell) who, along with two other crewmen, survived in a raft for 47 days after a near-fatal plane crash in WWII-only to be caught by the Japanese Navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp. I did enjoy this film, but i don’t think i could ever put myself through watching it again. At 2 hours and 10 minutes long, the movie touches on one note and plays that note over and over again. Before you call me insensitive, i know this is a real life story, but the story isn’t the fault in this movie. The blame of the bland effort by Jolie relies only on some of the worst pacing i have seen this year. 50 minutes of this film takes place in a raft, and it’s crippling torture on our protagonist. Then, then next 40 minutes takes place in a Japanese prison with even more torture. By the time you make it to the final five minutes of the movie, the juice just isn’t worth the squeeze. The viewer is put through crippling deed after crippling deed, and there is never any decent build or heart to make the viewer feel fully invested. The movie goes backwards in flashbacks of Louie’s life of growing up and getting into trouble to becoming a track star in the Olympics. Then, it’s dropped without any explanation. We never learn why Louie joined the army because we are never shown back story of him enlisting. This is what I mean by saying Jolie cannot write characters or story. By the end of the second hour, i found myself cheering more for the credits than i did Zamperini’s rescue. Jolie cares more about telling the whole story, and to a degree i can respect that. However, there is just too much repetitive nature in this story, and it makes that kind of pacing hard to enjoy. By the time i was done with the film, i felt that i too have been through everything Zamperini deals with. Some could view that as a good thing or a bad thing, but i couldn’t be happier to get out of that theater. I am sure my readers are wondering why i have done nothing but trash this film so far and yet still gave it a 6/10. Well, the film does do a lot of things wonderfully. The cinematography and color shading of the film shows Jolie has always been a master of the signature look that she commands. The setting are beautifully articulated by shooting locations and wardrobe that are very reminiscent of the World War era. Little known English actor Jack O’Connell is a fine choice as Louis. Japanese pop star Takamasa “Miyavi” Ishihara shines as “The Bird”. Louis’ sadistic captor and war criminal in training. There were so many scenes where i wanted Ishihara to get what was coming to him, and that is the mark of any good villain. The very best part of this film came in the props/makeup work. The boat scenes in particular presented us with stress induced vein popping eyes, and sunburn marks that captured the consequences perfectly of Louie’s time on the raft. It only gets better from there though, as the makeup team worked overtime to represent the brutal welts and scarring of his time in the Japaneese Prison Camp. It truly is exceptional work, and i wouldn’t be surprised in the least by an Academy Award nomination in this department. “Unbroken” isn’t good or terrible. If it’s to be described in a single word, i would say “Plain”, and that is a big tragedy for a movie that had such a compelling story to tell. I think audiences will be split down the line on this film, but i will still recommend it. The older crowds will love it, but i would tell those readers to wait until DVD. A strong message, beautifully made, but a little monotonous on the tone. “Unbroken” needed more logs on the fire to truly keep this film burning.