The Unbreakable Boy

This is not about a boy. Which makes it feel practically like false advertisement, considering that the trailer suggests otherwise. In fact, I'd say that the trailer has covered most of the highlights where the boy was, indeed, the focus. There are only a couple more scenes besides that.

So what's the movie is about really? I think it tried to be about a couple, at first, but then it became more about the father, and mostly him. There is a reason for this "pivot", if you can call it that, but it did not feel fair, to be honest, since it made the story somewhat one-sided.

Even if that can still be acceptable, I can't say the movie has much impact. It felt shallow for the most part. A lot of stuff is being told, not really shown (not talking about narration), which does not help with establishing connection with either of the characters. Important topics are often times touched in somewhat cliched ways, too, but life is a cliche in itself, so that's not a failure in itself. It's just that darker themes still were "too bright", too "upbeat".

Perhaps the running time of a movie was the constraint here. The story is spanning multiple years, after all, and on paper it has quite a few situations, that should stir emotions. But due to lack of time there is simply not enough room to build up to them and dramatize them properly. I think it might have worked better as a TV show similar to TV adaptation of "About A Boy", where the story was also not really so much about a boy (contrary to the title), but about him building connection and changing lives of others, including his mother and neighbor.

Alas, that's not what we have. It's not a complete waste of time, but I do no think it delivers, what it set out to.

When - 11:05 PM Where - MovieBox Pro With Who - Myself

First Thoughts - This movie is the definition of sweet and heartfelt. Kingdom Story Company once again managed to toe the line between impactful and cheesy, and it created a solid film.

I feel as though every member of the cast are actually trying in their roles, particularly Zachary Levi, Meghann Fahy, and newcomer Jacob Laval as the titular character Auzman. Levi, in particular, as Austin's father Scott, gives a fully fleshed out performance, portraying someone who consistently feels as though he is drowning, without realizing that he is the one doing so with the bottle. Given Levi's well-documented struggles with mental health, his inspiring journey to becoming mentally well, and his work to better others struggling with mental health issues, it truly feels as though he means and feels every word of the script he is speaking. It's as though he has thought every thought and said every word to himself at some point, and yet he still came out the other side. Fahy also gives a solid performance as Teresa, Auzman's mom and Scott's wife. She has quickly shown herself this year to be a really talented actress, specifically in roles that require a lot of emotional bandwidth. Lastly, Laval, as Austin, the star of the show, completely disappeared into this role. If I hadn't known any better, I would have thought that they had cast the actual real-life Austin. His performance has a naturally vibrant energy running through it, and it comes across as totally natural.

Does the story go through some familiar beats of the genre? Sure it does. Is it even somewhat predictable? I would say probably for most people.

At the end of the day, does that really matter? I don't think so.

This is a well-made, good-looking movie that tackles some very hard themes in a gentle but accurate way. There is a reason why nearly every production made by Kingdom Story Company ends up being an unprecedented success, and that's because they're good storytellers and are willing to put in the time, money, and effort to make good films.

Overall, this is a solid movie that the whole family can enjoy, and should.

I saw the unbreakable boy today. I wondered what everybody else thought about it after I saw the movie. I was surprised to see so many low rating reviews. While this is not a movie that has jaw dropping moments and us predictable. It's incredibly inspiring, and everyone can relate to the movie. It shows the struggles of a family dealing with really hard things which many of us go through hard things even in our normal healthy families I urge everyone to see it. You can learn from it. You can show Hollywood, we want more films like this by your attendance AMC Stubbs Tuesday night free membership six dollars everyone can afford That. Please see it.

When I'm writing this 20% of the reviews are 1 star, which is insane. The only explanation is there are narrow minded people that only see Zac Levi's political comments and decided that was enough to trash the movie. I'm pretty sure they didn't even see it, because if they had then they defeated their intention because the $$ spent means more than the 1 star.

They also ignore all the other great actors who put in fantastic performances.

Jacob Laval puts in a stellar performance. His manic delivery of dialogue was wonderfully done as were his facial expressions. Pretty impressive for his age.

I had not seen Meghann Fahy before in a lead role, but now I'm going to be looking for things she's done in the past and future. She was rememberable in her performance as "T".

The supporting cast were excellent complement. Patricia Heaton and Amy Acker delivered as always performances that made scenes work.

I can only hope that people are wise enough to look at the rating distribution and realize there are haters and ignore the composite rating.

After three years of delays, "The Unbreakable Boy" was finally released, and I didn't know what to expect. I haven't read the original book or heard about the real-life events that inspired it, which means it could've gone either way. I'm glad that it went in a powerful and entertaining direction.

To start, all of the performances were strong. The core family the movie focuses on is portrayed fantastically and effectively by Zachary Levi, Meghann Fahy, Gavin Warren, and especially a phenomenal Jacob Laval as Austin. These characters needed to be believable for this movie to work, and I felt the actors (mostly) succeeded with this task.

Jon Gunn's directing was incredibly inspiring. I don't think it's as ambitious as his previous effort, "Ordinary Angels," but he did an exceptional job making this narrative work. His screenplay also enhances the investment I had in the characters.

With the central plot revolving around Austin, who has brittle bone disease and autism, I can only imagine how difficult it was to portray it. I felt like the team depicted Austin with care, and I learned more about these conditions than I would have, although I understand this is a film. Either way, this movie does a nice job of showcasing how people with autism and brittle bone disease might be considered different, but they can inspire optimism and joy in others. It makes for a feel-good story that moved me.

For the final positive, the pacing was solid. I felt it never drags, and I was always interested in seeing where the story would go next.

Unfortunately, as much as I tried to overlook them, some issues are plain as day.

To start, not to spoil anything, the film isn't concentrated entirely on Austin. It's divided between him and his father, Levi's Scott. Scott faces numerous struggles, one of which is trying to understand Austin. Unfortunately, many moments make Scott incredibly unlikeable. The movie chronicles a potential redemption story for him, but some of his actions distract from what should be a very inspirational story. The opening scene alone should give you an idea of why this is a problem. He's not entirely disagreeable, but several things he does infuriated me, and parents who see this will probably feel the same way.

The other two issues are minimal, more like aspects I have mixed feelings about. A side character in Drew Powell's Joe doesn't justify his existence until halfway through the movie, which is weird. I enjoyed his inclusion, but until that mid-point section, he felt pointless. The other problem is that although it stuck the landing, it happened after three other potential conclusions, which is odd. That's about it for the negatives, thankfully.

It's not perfect, but critics are unjustifiably harsh to "The Unbreakable Boy." Briefly reading into why, I'm baffled that it didn't connect with critics. It contains flaws, but not enough to call it a bad or mediocre movie - far from it.

Technically, the acting, directing, and screenplay make for a 9/10 technical score. Admittedly, one moment contained out-of-place, bad CGI, which took me out of it, but outside of that, nothing's technically wrong with this film.

The enjoyment score: the flaws are hard to ignore, but it remains a delightful time. Therefore, the enjoyment score is a 9/10. It's hard to call it an easy watch, but it's an eye-opening one worth watching!