http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4910357485001

I had a feeling Angelina Jolie's “Unbroken” would be more or less critic-proof. Based on a beloved best-seller, very little in the way of wide release adult drama competition, etc. Sure enough, it's skipping right along at the box office without missing a beat. That will do a lot for the awards push as we head into 2015, certainly. But now that this heavy has finally arrived, it's time to find out what the readership thinks.

I still basically stand by my knee-jerk reaction. (I've seen it a second time since.) There are a lot of thematic ideas that continue to be a part of the dialogue when the cast and filmmakers discuss the movie, but none of it is really in the text of the film. The meat of the drama is carried across in a few postscript notes, while the film itself is just an ordeal and a slog. Again, you can only see Jack O'Connell get smacked with a cane so many times before you're just sort of numb to it.

What say you? Agree? Disagree? Head on back here with your thoughts on the film if and when you catch it this holiday, and remember to vote in our poll.