海角大神

The upcoming film 鈥淯nbroken鈥� is based on a runaway bestseller, has a celebrity behind the camera, and is getting Oscar buzz. So does the movie itself live up to all the hype?

鈥淯nbroken,鈥� which is directed by Angelina Jolie and stars Jack O鈥機onnell as Louis Zamperini, a former Olympic athlete who was taken prisoner by the Japanese during World War II after a harrowing ordeal at sea, isn鈥檛 being released until December, but some reviews have already been released. The verdict seems to be that the film is an old-fashioned rousing biopic, and that satisfies some critics more than others.

critic Eric Kohn called the movie a 鈥渃lassical feel-good wartime excursion.鈥�

鈥淭hat's just enough to make the movie work in the confines of its formula while laying its limitations bare,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淎s with [Jolie鈥檚 previous directorial effort 鈥業n the Land of] Blood and Honey,鈥� Jolie's sophomore outing breaks no new ground, but manages to convey its real-life odyssey with a largely agreeable, celebratory tone. At over two hours, the movie's galvanizing spirit grows weary. But Jolie keeps the narrative afloat thanks to first-rate craftsmanship, a few well-honed moments of bona fide suspense, and a terrifically restrained Jack O'Connell in the lead role. While it only hints at the sweeping epic that never fully materializes, 鈥楿nbroken鈥� offers further proof that Jolie's directorial instincts pass muster alongside her other talents.鈥� He gave the film a B.

critic Justin Chang found the film to be 鈥渂eautifully wrought but cumulatively underwhelming鈥� but also praised O鈥機onnell.

鈥淛olie has achieved something by turns eminently respectable and respectful to a fault, maintaining an intimate, character-driven focus that, despite the skill of the filmmaking and another superb lead performance from Jack O鈥機onnell, never fully roars to dramatic life,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淎 bit embalmed in its own nobility, it鈥檚 an extraordinary story told in dutiful, unexceptional terms, the passionate聽commitment聽of all involved rarely achieving聽gut-level impact.鈥�

reviewer Todd McCarthy delivered a similar verdict.

鈥淎 great true story is telescoped down to a merely good one in 鈥楿nbroken鈥�,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淎fter a dynamite first half-hour, Angelina Jolie's accomplished second outing as a director slowly loses steam as it chronicles the inhuman dose of suffering endured by Olympic runner Louie Zamperini鈥� Wonderfully acted by Jack O'Connell in the leading role and guided with a steady hand by Jolie without unduly inflating the heroics or injecting maudlin cliches, this will be a tough film for some to take. But it also has strong appeal as an extraordinary survival story.鈥�

Meanwhile, Alonso Duralde of wrote of the film, 鈥淭he results are more awe-inspiring than moving, but the true story of Louis Zamperini definitely makes a heck of a yarn鈥� If I describe the superior craftsmanship of 鈥楿nbroken鈥欌�� in a way that makes the end results seem more like a convertible than a movie, it's because the film boasts both sheen and efficiency without always delivering an equivalent emotional impact.鈥�

"Unbroken" opens on Dec. 25.