I like war stories. For someone who hated studying history in high school, the same cannot be said for me to love watching war movies. But I am somewhat selective. I am a sucker for true stories, especially ones about courage and strength.

"Unbroken" is a true story and that is a good thing. It is about young, Olympic athlete Louis Zamperini who finds himself later in a Japanese concentration camp who is bullied, and eventually beaten by one extremely cruel Japanese leader. 

Do go watch this show if you admire people who seem to have super-human strength of endurance. Not only does our young soldier, along with one other soldier, survive being lost at sea for over a month, but he must endure great punishment and deprivation in the prisoner-of-war camp.

The young actors, Jack O'Connnell, Takamasa Ishihara, Domhnall Gleeson are all convincing in their respective roles.  But one main point of concern is that in various scenes of the movie, the actors are all too clean-shaven and their appearance does not seem too worse for wear especially when they are lost at sea. In other words, I often felt that I was watching a movie and it's realism just wasn't there at times.

This is in direct contrast to Brad Pitt's movie, "Fury" where the movie was profoundly realistic, bloody and intensely compelling to watch.

Unfortunately, "Unbroken" is a sanitized version of war. It shows little blood and the horrors found in war are just not found there, especially compared to other war movies. 

You certainly won't be flinching at the blood scenes, but this does not discount the fact that the show is an important true story to depict and some of the earlier fight scenes take you to inside the cockpit and you just feel that you are with the gallant boys in the sky, fighting for your country and your own lives.