It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

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.

'Unbroken' is set during WWII and tells the incredible true story of an Olympic athlete, Louis Zamperini, who survived 47 days in a raft at sea, only to be caught by the Japanese and sent to a prison camp, where he is tortured by a sadistic Japanese commander. It's an unbelievable story and one that had the potential to be turned into a memorable film, but 'Unbroken' doesn't really do the story justice.The main problem with the film is its surprising lack of any real emotion. It left me cold, I didn't feel a connection with any of what was happening on screen. Louis is such an easy character to sympathise with, he's somebody you naturally want to see survive and succeed, but I never felt that when I was watching the film. 'Unbroken' is an easy film to sit through because it's so well-made, but I felt detached. It lacks character and is too bland to be remembered.

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-

Because the story focuses on several main characters, and those characters are exceptional and tell this powerful true story in the most engrossing way possible, I give this film 10 stars. Admittedly, the home scenes (which start off the film) are slightly more bland and the characters are flatter but I think that make sense - they serve as a backdrop to Louie as an adult, as a runner, and into the military. The adult Louie is portrayed very well. The drama grips you - it made me cry at times, look away in horror, but mostly, this movie inspires me every day. It is a story of personal strength and a touch of faith, patriotism, family, friendship, and mostly, the triumph of the human spirit - not just as a cliché, but as an incredible reality. This movie can be frightening but if you've got someone to hold onto while you watch, it's worth every second. You won't forget it because it won't leave you. It is powerful, awe-inspiring, and empowering. There is dawn at the end of night, beauty in a black coal mine. Be moved.