Ya know... I remember REALLY liking this film. I thought it was a clever deconstruction of superhero tropes and had that M Night S twist.
Um... I guess the novelty of an M Night film has worn off... because while I didn't hate the film... I didn't really enjoy it either.
My main beef? It was too M Nightish.
What does that mean? Well... everything's dreary... everyone's sad. This guy's discovering that he super-human and there not one bit of "wow" or "cool".
The son cries when he finds out he saved some kids... no... "Ya hoo!"
Also... on re-watching... I found the fact that he had no idea of his powers... then suddenly can see actual visions, which is much more than a mere "spidey-sense", a bit of a stretch.
Like I said, it's not a terrible movie by any stretch. Maybe on a first viewing it could be good. Maybe M Night movies should not be re-watched since the "twist" is such an important part.
On re-watching though the dreariness of it brought the whole experience down, like watch a film while someone was sitting on your chest.
I don't remember who said it, but I really like the theory that if Superman walked into a bar everyone would be terrified not thrilled. Your review just nailed the problems with this movie. The weightlifting scene really bothered me for the exact reasons you describe above.
I agree... that weightlifting should have been a moment where Father and son look at each other and say... "That's so cool!"
I think the closest it came was a smirk.
I agree with some of the technical flaws with this film but I actually liked it better the second time I watched it than I did originally. I'm a big fan of M. Night's The Sixth Sense so when I watched Unbreakable for the first time it was a let down but when I watched it again I really enjoyed it.