The Film
The life of the late Louis "Louie" Zamperini was an eventful one -- and certainly not an easy one to contain into 138 minutes of film. Despite that lengthy runtime, Unbroken is just a small piece of this man's incredible life.
As the son of Italian immigrants, Zamperini's childhood consisted of ridicule and rebellion. It's briefly touched upon in the film, but quickly flip-flops between his time as an Olympic runner and his service in the Air Force during World War II. In case those two hightlights aren't special enough, he survives not one, but two plane crashes during his time in the military. The final one puts him in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for 47 days, before being captured by the Japanese and tortured for multiple years.
Unbroken is difficult to watch at times and only briefly touches upon some of Zamperini's happier achievements. His stint at sea gets a lengthy portion of the film's runtime, with the rest being reserved for Zamperini's time getting beat-down in the POW camps. These are the times where he's being broken, but what exactly makes him Unbroken? Angelina Jolie, in her second directorial effort, sort of skimps on those moments. It would have been nice to see more of Zamperini's triumphs and time on the field. Also, his post-war existence was just as interesting, but is only touched upon in the film's closing moments.
Zamperini had quite an interesting, eventful life, which sort of put Jolie in a no-win situation when she decided to adapt Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. There's a lot of that missing here; not just from the book, but from Zamperini's life in general.
Considering that the film is 138 minutes, it's hard to blame Jolie for cutting down the material. However, that doesn't mean that Unbroken isn't an entertaining movie. It's beautifully shot and well-acted, most notably by Jack O'Connell, who is strong, passionate and sympathetic as our hero.
Want to get another glimpse at this movie? Check out David Kempler's theatrical review of Unbroken.
The Picture
Just because the bulk of this film takes place in the 1930s and 40s, don't expect it to have any sort of a dated look to it. The 2.40:1 image is absolutely stunning and exactly what you'd expect from a newer blockbuster. During the opening scenes, there is a ton of detail, from pores and facial hair to breaking glass, texture on the bomber jackets, and all of the fluffy clouds. That's just in the first fifth of the movie, though. Once the scenery changes, the film is still quite awesome. The black levels are strong, which is especially evident during the night scenes when the three are out on the raft and in the shelter where Louis Zamperini is first taken prisoner. There isn't much pop to the color palette, although the red in the Japanese flag stands out and the various skintones are spot-on. Overall, it's really hard to complain; this image is pretty much flawless from beginning to end.
The Sound
Unbroken is the latest film to get a Dolby Atmos track. However, without the necessary equipment, I used the film's Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mix for this review -- and it's quite excellent. The aforementioned opening scene has awesome directionality, with the sound of the plane and gunshots rapidly moving from one side of the soundfield to the other. The bombs and crashes are also quite immersive. Once the action moves out into the middle of the ocean, it's mostly about dialogue, rainstorms, and ocean sounds. The camp also has its share of explosions and crowd chatter as well. In the second half of the film, some of the excitement is replaced with the film's soundtrack. However, it's always quite immersive and a wonderful track overall.
The Extras
Final Thoughts
Unbroken may appear to be unfinished to some. There's a lot of Louis Zamperini's life missing here. However, it's hard to complain when it's such an entertaining film. It's wonderfully shot and acted, with a Blu-ray that includes a stunning image, engaging audio, and a nice collection of extras. Unbroken may be tough to swallow at times, but once you start watching, it will be hard to look away.
Product Details
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