Must See Movie Downloads: Unbreakable
King of New York, starring Christopher Walken, kind of flew under the radar. It’s essentially a “rise and fall” gangster story along the lines of Scarface or The Godfather Part II. Unlike either of those movies, Walken’s character is not the source of his own downfall, but rather, sort of a victim of circumstance. If you like crime flicks, put King of New York on your movie downloads queue.
As we begin the story, Walken as Frank White has just gotten out of prison and he’s ready to return to the action. He starts his drug empire up again and runs with an iron fist. Along the way he has to deal with crooked cops, disloyal associates, gang wars and women troubles. What really makes the movie work isn’t so much the story, which is, to be honest, somewhat stock, but rather, the performance Walken turns in, as well as that of his right hand man Laurence Fishburne.
Stallone plays John Rambo here as a disgruntled and disillusioned Vietnam War veteran. Sly has commented that he meant for the character to be something of a Frankenstein’s Monster, expressing much of the same frustration that was felt by the veterans of the war after they returned home. He was created to be a killing machine, a soldier, and when he was turned loose, he was essentially abandoned, with no purpose in life, and he turns to drifting, working odd jobs to get some food now and then. This isn’t just John Rambo we’re talking about, this happened to many veterans.
Frank White is really a smooth operator. In fact, it’s somewhat odd that so many rappers aspire to being Scarface. Tony Montana was impulsive, irresponsible, unstable and had a substance abuse problem. Frank White on the other hand is cool, collected, in control, and always knows just what to do and say to diffuse a situation and keep himself out of trouble. In short, he’s much more “gangster” than Tony Montana, by virtue of being far less gangster.
The conflict between the soldier and the Sheriff escalates and becomes a matter of personal and professional pride, but essentially of the male ego, with neither side wanting to back down. Stallone’s character isn’t trying to kill anyone, or in fact, even wanting to hurt anyone, but he’s not going in without a fight, either. He wants to prove to these people that he’s better than them, and likewise they want to prove the opposite to him.
Save to say that, beyond being about superheroes, it’s also about finding your place in the world, figuring out what you were put here to do. It’s really an incredible film about a family man, truth be told. It just happens to have these superhero trappings. Or maybe it’s more like a superhero movie with family movie trappings? We don’t know. All we can say is that it’s really one of a kind as far as the genre goes.
Samuel L. Jackson as Mister Glass is a performance for the ages. These days, Jackson is usually hired to more or less play himself. He shouts a few swear words, shoots a few snakes, and picks up a paycheck. We love Sam Jackson, who doesn’t? But it’s always surprising when you see him in a role with a bit of depth to it and you’re reminded that “Wow, this guy can actually ACT!” Mister Glass is just a great character, played by a great actor who rarely gets this sort of an opportunity to truly shine.
Shyamalan has had something of a fall from grace in recent years with movies like The Village and The Happening really failing to make a splash on the box office scene and being met with negative or mixed reviews. However, between Unbreakable, Signs and The Sixth Sense, it’s clear that he’s a writer and a director with some real talent. Every director has had a flop or two. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, forget the recent problems the director has had and just enjoy this one for what it is.
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