History YMMV / Unbroken

* DawsonCasting: Watanabe and Zamperini were only one year apart in age, with Watanabe being one year younger. Miyavi was thirty-three when he was cast in the role, and is nine years older than Jack O'Connell.

* BrokenBase: The film received this from the Christian community despite being approved by Louis Zamperini shortly before Zamperini's death in July 2014 (prior to its Christmas release date that year) due to feeling that producer Angelina Jolie neglected to reflect on Zamperini's later conversion to Christianity[[note]]Zamperini was one of several celebrity converts as a tent crusade in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles in 1949 preached by a then-little known Billy Graham; with the ensuing media coverage making Graham a well-known figure[[/note]]. Partly as a result of that dispute; the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association would release a half-hour documentary titled ''Captured by Grace'' in 2015; while Creator/PureFlixEntertainment took it upon themselves to produce a follow-up - with none of the original film's cast and crew - in 2018 titled ''Unbroken: Path to Redemption''.

* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: While floating at sea, Louie, Mack, and Phil are starving and come across a seagull. Of course, they kill the seagull and start eating it. SmashCut to them start vomiting. [[NauseaFuel While it does sound disgusting on its own]], its execution certainly brings a laugh.

* JerkassWoobie: Turns out when Zamperini visited the abandoned quarters of his torturer, he learns Watanabe is one due to being a WellDoneSonGuy and TheUnfavorite in his family for being the only son to not get a military rank promotion which was why he takes his anger out on him and his fellow comrades.
* MoralEventHorizon: Watanabe's cruel torturing of his prisoners was out of being a personal JerkassWoobie as noted above, but after the war, he refused to be forgiven by or even ''meet'' Zamperini, insisting that he was just doing his duty by "[[IDidWhatIHadToDo treating them as enemies of Japan.]]"

* FoeYay: Watanabe surely wants to leave Louie shellshocked but those manners of approaching him seem to have very inner intentions.
** Then again, Watanabe seems to be only one or two steps removed from being a serial killer, and Zamperini is clearly creeped out. This portrayal is apparently TruthInTelevision, as not only [=POWs=] but fellow Japanese guards noted that Watanabe seemed to get a sexual thrill out of beating prisoners.

* MoralEventHorizon: Watanabe's cruel torturing of his prisoners was out of being a personal JerkassWoobie as noted above, but after the war, he refused to be forgiven by or even ''meet'' Zamperini, insisting that he was just doing his duty by "[[IDidWhatIHadToDo treating them as enemies of Japan.]]" Those of the religious persuasion can tell you that refusing to absolve yourself of such sins [[DraggedOffToHell doesn't tide over well]] for you in the afterlife.

* DawsonCasting: Watanabe and Zamperini were only one year apart in age, with Watanabe being one year younger. Miyavi was thirty-three when he was cast in the role, and is eleven years older than Jack O'Connell.

* AuthorExistenceFailure: While Laura Hillenbrand, the author of the book, is alive and well, its inspiration is not. The film premiered in the United States on Christmas Day, and Louis Zamperini died in July of that year. However, Angelina Jolie showed him the final cut of the movie prior to his death.

* DawsonCasting: Averted with Jack O'Connell. At the time of Zamperini's capture and internment at the Omori camp, he was age twenty-six. At the time of filming, Jack O'Connell was twenty-two years old.
** Played straight with Miyavi. Watanabe and Zamperini were only one year apart in age, with Watanabe being one year younger. Miyavi was thirty-three when he was cast in the role, and is eleven years older than Jack O'Connell.

* MoralEventHorizon: Watanabe's cruel torturing of his prisoners was out of being a personal JerkassWoobie as noted above, but after the war when he refuses to be forgiven by Zamperini for what he done to him, Watanabe had never repented his sins and his soul was likely DraggedOffToHell in the afterlife after his death in 2003.

* CrowningMomentOfFunny: While floating at sea, Louie, Mack, and Phil are starving and come across a seagull. Of course, they kill the seagull and start eating it. SmashCut to them start vomiting. [[NauseaFuel While it does sound disgusting on its own]], its execution certainly brings a laugh.

* SpecialEffectFailure: At times the sharks are obviously computer generated.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Based off the book detailing the firsthand account of Olympic athlete-turned-POW camp survivor Louie Zamperini's two year experience being tortured by the Japanese army.

* PromotedFanboy: When the Japanese casting director for ''Film/{{Unbroken}}'' met with Miyavi, he had little knowledge of the film, its story, or anything about it. When she asked him who his favorite actor was, he immediately answered with Creator/AngelinaJolie, having absolutely no idea that she was the director behind the project, or that she was a fan of his and had sought him out personally for the role of Watanabe. He later jokingly said on an episode of ''[[Creator/EllenDeGeneres Ellen]]'' that this was why he got the part.

* AwardSnub: The film was striving for a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards, but did not due to its mixed critical reception. Other then that, Angelina Jolie also tried to make sure the acting performances of Jack O'Connell and Music/{{Miyavi}} got nominations too, but sadly neither did not as well.

* OvershadowedByControversy: Japan's attitude toward the film was this, to say the least. Since Japan does not accept responsibility for a majority of its war crimes and overall does not share the view of World War II that the rest of the world has, the film was protested by Japanese nationalists under the grounds of racism, culminating in allegations of the film being anti-Japanese, garnering Japanese born Miyavi a lot of criticism for taking the role, and a petition on change.org for the film to be banned in Japan in addition to having Angelina Jolie being banned from Japan as well.

* AwardSnub: The film was striving for a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards, but did not due to its mixed critical reception. Other then that, Angelina Jolie also tried to make sure the acting performances of Jack O'Connell and Music/{{Miyavi}} get nominations too, but sadly neither did not as well.

** Played straight with Miyavi. Watanabe and Zamperini were only one year apart in age, with Watanabe being one year younger. Miyavi was thirty-three when he was cast in the role.

* OvershadowedByControversy: Japan's attitude toward the film was this, to say the least. Since Japan does not accept responsibility for a majority of its war crimes and overall does not share the view of World War II that the rest of the world has, the film was protested by Japanese nationalists under the grounds of racism, culminating in allegations of the film being anti-Japanese, garnering Japanese born Miyavi a lot of criticism for taking the role, and a petition on change.org for the film to be banned in Japan in addition to having Angelina Jolie being banned from Japan as well.

* OvershadowedByControversy: Japan's attitude toward the film was this, to say the least. [[Since Japan does not accept responsibility for a majority of its war crimes and overall does not share the view of World War II that the rest of the world has, the film was protested by Japanese nationalists under the grounds of racism, culminating in allegations of the film being anti-Japanese, garnering Japanese born Miyavi a lot of criticism for taking the role, and a petition on change.org for the film to be banned in Japan in addition to having Angelina Jolie being banned from Japan as well.]]

* JerkassWoobie: Turns out when Zamperini visited the abandoned quarters of his torturer, he learns Watanabe is one due to being a WellDoneSonGuy and TheUnfavorite in his family for being the only son to not get a military rank promotion which was why he takes his anger out on him and his fellow comrades.

* AwardSnub: The film was striving for a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards, but did not. Other then that, Jolie also tried to make sure the acting performances of Jack O'Connell and Music/{{Miyavi}} get nominations too, but sadly neither did not as well.

** Then again, Watanabe seems to be only one or two steps removed from being a serial killer, and Zamperini is clearly creeped out. This portrayal is apparently TruthInTelevision...

* IronWoobie: Zamperini. The title says it all.

* FoeYay: Watanabe surely wants to leave Louie shellshocked but those manners of approaching him seem to have very inner intentions.