At least I can say I enjoyed ‘Unbroken’

NOTE: Roger Thomas is currently recovering from an automobile accident on Dec. 30. You can read more about it here. During his absence, we will have guest writers reviewing films.

Jack O’Connell plays Louis Zamperini in the true story. (Photo courtesy of Legendary Pictures)

Written by Jason O. Boyd (O’Boyd)

Since I see so many movies, I end up equally reading a lot of websites that report on films and do reviews.

I’ve seen a lot of mixed reviews for “Unbroken,” the Angelia Jolie-directed World War II film that’s the true story of Louis Zamperini. He was a soldier who survived a near-fatal plane crash and spent 47 days with crewmembers in the Pacific Ocean before being captured by the Japanese and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp.

The main problems critics, and even some friends of mine, have with “Unbroken” is the inconsistencies in the film. People with way more time on their hands see dialogue that doesn’t work and holes in the story that – as one friend put it – you could fly a plane through.

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I sometimes can look past this, at least for this film. My main emphasis when seeing “Unbroken” was to be enterained and educated on Zamperini and his incredible story.

When I went to see “Unbroken,” I had a lot of those reviews and friends’ comments on my mind. But as I watched the film, those flaws people pointed out tended to float away.

Sure, “Unbroken” isn’t the greatest film ever made. Trying to lump it with epic WWII movies such as “Saving Private Ryan” or “Schindler’s List” is just unfair. And, if I sit down and think about it long enough, I could find things about the film that bothered me.

Instead, I’d rather focus on the dramatic moments of the film. Jack O’Connell does an excellent job playing the role of Zamperini. We get to see flashbacks of Zamperini’s youth and how he became a successful long-distance runner who went to the Berlin Olympics, the ones run by Adolph Hitler.

Some of the best moments are of O’Connell surviving on the raft in the middle of the ocean. He even lost weight and passed out a couple of times during the plank scene that’s on the movie poster. His dedication to telling the story really came through in the film.

So while “Unbroken” might not win an Academy Award for Best Picture, it’s story will undoubtly leave you inspired and appreciative of the risks soldiers like Zamperini undertook to help win WWII and keep our country free.

That’s good enough for me.

Watch the new trailer for ’71’ before you go see ‘Unbroken’

Written by O’Boyd

Jack O’Connell is the star in “Unbroken,” the Angelina Jolie film that hits theaters Christmas Day.

But before you see him in that performance, check out what’s sure to be another powerful performance in “71.” This film opens Feb. 27.

Here’s a description of the film, from Studio Canal UK’s YouTube page:

“From Warp Films, Film4, BFI and STUDIOCANAL comes the critically acclaimed Berlin Festival hit ’71, a nail-biting chase thriller about a hunted soldier fighting for survival.

“A young British soldier is accidentally abandoned by his unit following a riot on the streets of Belfast in 1971. Unable to tell friend from foe, and increasingly wary of his own comrades, the raw recruit must survive the night alone and find his way to safety through a disorientating, alien and deadly landscape.”

Click on the link below to see the original trailer that premiered Aug. 20.