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Unbroken

age 14+
(i)

 

Intense WWII biopic is inspiring but doesn't go deep enough.
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  • Review Date: December 25, 2014
  • Rated: PG-13
  • Genre: Drama
  • Release Year: 2014
  • Running Time: 137 minutes

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What parents need to know

Positive messages

The main character's intense determination helps him make it to the Olympics and, later, to survive as a POW, despite unbearably horrible circumstances. This is definitely a story about triumphing in the face of adversity.

Positive role models

Zamperini managed to survive 47 days stranded at sea and then two years in a Japanese POW camp because of his grit, resilience, and unbreakable will. Other characters are shown deteriorating, both physically and mentally.

Violence

Plenty of war-related violence. Early scenes show aerial combat, with planes and crewmen getting shot up and exploding. Then a trio of men is lost at sea in a small raft, struggling to survive; they take on sharks with their bare hands. The last act takes place in a Japanese POW camp run by a brutal sadist. The prisoners are beaten with sticks, threatened with swords, given meager rations, and forced into slave labor. They're also forced to undress; their bare bottoms are shown, and they cover their genitals with their hands.

Sex

Non-sexual nudity includes a scene in which prisoners are forced to undress, and viewers see their bare bottoms.

Language

Brief profanity includes a partial "f--k," "s--t," "damn," and "ass."

Consumerism
Not applicable
Drinking, drugs, & smoking

A teen boy takes swigs from liquor disguised in milk bottles. Some characters smoke cigarettes (accurate for the era). Adult soldiers drink beer.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Unbroken is Angelina Jolie's affecting, inspiring biopic about Louis Zamperini (Jack O'Connell), an Olympic athlete who finds himself tested all sorts of ways during World War II, culminating in a two-year stint in a Japanese prison camp. As expected based on the source material (the script was adapted from Laura Hillenbrand's book about Zamperini's life), there are plenty of scenes showing torturous abuse, including beatings, verbal harangues, and psychological attacks; some of it is quite difficult to watch. Aerial combat footage includes explosions, and Zamperini's time adrift on the ocean is also intense; at one point, he and his boatmates take on sharks with their bare hands. Language is infrequent and mild, but some early scenes portray a teenager smoking and drinking. Families may want to check out Hillenbrand's young adult adaptation of her bestselling book.

What's the story?

Based on Lauren Hillenbrand's same-named book, UNBROKEN tells the true story of Louis Zamperini (Jack O'Connell), an Olympic athlete who impressed the world in the 1936 Olympics by running the final lap of the 5,000-meter event in a blazing 56 seconds. And later, after surviving 47 days adrift in the Pacific after a plane crash, he became a POW in Japan for two years. Remarkable and resilient, Zamperini survives the meanest challenges of life, including being stranded on a raft with two other crewmen, only to be picked up by a Japanese naval ship and spirited behind enemy lines, where he's beaten and tortured.

Is it any good?

QUALITY

UNBROKEN will undoubtedly leave audiences with nothing but admiration for Zamperini, a strong, noble man who managed to survive the horrors of his life through grit, resourcefulness, and a deep sense of self. For this alone, the film is worth watching, as well as for its lush cinematography and disciplined storytelling, which doesn't rely overly on swelling music and other tricks to make audiences feel with a capital F.

But for a film that does so much, Unbroken still falls short in some aspects. A footnote at the end hints at incomparable kindness that Zamperini bestowed upon his enemies, and yet this is told in words rather than images. It's a pity. And though it's clear Zamperini survives partly by holding on to the lessons his brother gave him -- words that echo through his head and that the audience hears -- it feels like there's much more depth to him that's left unexplored. And what of his pain? The film hints that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder of some kind; completely understandable, given the circumstances, but nothing makes a man even more unbroken than to have survived all so much while still maintaining the measure of grace that historians said Zamperini had -- but that's not quite reflected here. We would have loved to have seen the whole story.

Families can talk about...

  • Families can talk about Unbroken's violent scenes. How do the prison camp abuse scenes make you feel? Did they need to be included so audiences could understand what Zamperini went through? How do they compare to the scenes of aerial combat and of the men adrift in the ocean? Which had the most impact on you, and why?

  • How does battle affect people? Do you think movies and TV shows depict it realistically? What are the consequences?

  • What do you think kept Zamperini going, despite all the challenges he faced? How is he a role model? Do you think the film portrays him accurately?

Movie details

Theatrical release date:December 25, 2014
DVD release date:March 24, 2015
Cast:Jack O'Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Jai Courtney
Director:Angelina Jolie
Studio:Universal Pictures
Genre:Drama
Topics:History
Run time:137 minutes
MPAA rating:PG-13
MPAA explanation:war violence including intense sequences of brutality, and for brief language

This review of Unbroken was written by

S. Jhoanna Robledo
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are conducted by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

Quality

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  • Very Good: Engaging; good learning approach.
  • Good: Pretty engaging; good learning approach.
  • Fair: Somewhat engaging; OK learning approach.
  • Not for Learning: Not recommended for learning.
  • Not for Kids: Not age-appropriate for kids; not recommended for learning.

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Adult Written byBestPicture1996 December 26, 2014
age 16+

Zamperini's story is incredible, the movie is rough to watch

Not rough in terms of being a really bad movie, but the endless, pervasive suffering Louis Zamperini was forced to undertake. The movie is at least, at the very least 40% dedicated to Louis getting tortured, humiliated and beaten, mostly by the sadistic Japanese man known as the Bird. Now, let me say, that Takamasa Ishihara and of course, Jack O'Connell are great as the Bird and Louis. O'Connell especially makes this movie very watchable, bringing a charisma to this man who refuses to bend, a patriot without being obnoxious, as we see that he was a kid who got in trouble a lot. My big beef is that this may be not fitting enough a tribute to this man who endured so much. We get 15 minutes of his childhood and nearly an hour of the man getting withered down. Still, O'Connell's performance and the visual shots of the aerial sequences tip this movie over to being pretty good. I am shocked though, that this didn't receive an R rating. So "Nebraska," a movie with two f-words in it is adults-only where 13 year olds can see a man whipped and beaten for 60 minutes? Strange times we live in.
What other families should know
Too much violence
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Adult Written byMama Bear January 1, 2015
age 14+

Good but not great

My husband and I went to see Unbroken with our 17 yo and 10 yo. I read the book a couple of years ago and was fascinated with Lou Zamperini's story. The book was transfixing; it was unbelievable all that Zamperini went through, came through. His story is beyond inspiring. Anyway, we took our 10 yo because she's a pretty mature kid and has seen other PG-13 movies with no problem. Unbroken, however, in my opinion, should have been rated R. I don't understand the ratings system sometimes. Movies like The King's Speech are rated R when they should be PG-13 (in this case, it was R in theaters, PG-13 on DVD; go figure). Unbroken the film focused mainly on 2 parts of Laura Hillenbrand's book: Zamperini's time at sea with fellow soldiers for almost 50 days after their plane went down and his time as a POW. It was incredibly violent. This movie is not for squeamish kids or any kids under 11 or 12. There was so much more to his story from the book, I think they could have done more with Zamperini's amazing story besides all the abuse and torture he endured at sea and from the Japanese. My 10 yo and I spent the last hour of the movie in the theater game room. Certainly not the movie's fault; I did read reviews beforehand and knew what we were getting into and knew we might have to hang out in the lobby. All of that to say, I do highly recommend the movie. Zamperini's story should be seen by many; I just don't think the movie did it justice; but then it might've taken a good 3 or 4 hours to tell this guy's story!
What other families should know
Great role models
Too much violence
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Teen, 17 years old Written byChristopherGraham January 24, 2015
age 14+

"Unbroken" by Christopher Graham

This is a film that lacks excellent detail, inspiration, experience, and a superb script. This film stars Jack O'Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Miyavi, Garrett Hedlund, and Finn Wittrock. This film revolves around the life of USA Olympian and athlete Louis Zamperini (portrayed by Jack O'Connell). Zamperini, who survived in a raft for 47 days after his bomber was downed in World War II, and was sent to a series of prisoner of war camps. I thought that this film was a complete waste of time and that the script for this film was too overdone. The acting was charming, the direction was precise (especially for Angelina Jolie), the cinematography was fetching, the sound editing was very well-done, and even the sound mixing was done wonderfully as well. What they could have done better to make this film a whole lot better and simple was that they could have made the title character a lot more interesting, the film could have been a lot more inspirational, and the script could have been a lot more superb to its real-life subject. Overall, I thought that this film was very marginal and that it lacked a lot of perfection that could have made this film a lot better to its purpose. Adults, teens, and 14 year olds are okay to see this movie, if they are fans of World War II and the history of the Olympics. Younger kids are not meant to see this movie based on its war violence, intense sequences of brutality, and brief language.
What other families should know
Great messages
Too much violence
Too much swearing
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