Glass possesses a kinetic energy that Unbreakable and Split didn’t have and didn’t need.
Glass is the final entry in what has been dubbed the Unbreakable series, which also includes 2000’s Unbreakable and 2016’s Split. M. Night Shyamalan’s first two entries were essentially stand alone films. Although it was eventually revealed that they took place in the same universe, Unbreakable and Split had no obvious connection to one another. You could view one or both and enjoy them as individual experiences. Glass, however, absolutely requires that you’ve seen the previous two films. As such, it loses the modicum of surprise that each previous film possessed. If you haven’t seen them, you’re going to be completely lost no matter how many flashback scenes are thrown your way.
(That said, it’s impossible for me to review Glass without spoiling the previous two films. So, if you haven’t seen either of them, please stop reading.)
David Dunn (Bruce Willis) has become something of an Internet sensation in the 15 years since discovering he possesses super strength. Walking the streets of Philadelphia, he uses his heightened intuition to hunt down mostly small-time criminals. Dubbed “The Overseer” by the public, he manages to elude the police, who view him as a dangerous vigilante.
Dunn has been trying to track down “The Horde,” the collection of 24 personalities inhabiting Kevin Crumb (James McAvoy) who have been responsible for a spate of serial killings. He finally runs into one of Crumb’s personalities, Hedwig, an eternally nine-year-old boy, as he walks down a street in an industrial area of the city. It turns out that Crumb is holed up in an abandoned factory and has recently abducted four young girls to sacrifice to “The Beast”, the superhuman personality that reigns over Crumb’s other 23 personalities.
Dunn eventually fights “The Beast” but before they can finish their combat, they are captured by the police, who are tipped off by Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson,) who is aware of their individual weaknesses. Staple moves the pair to Ravenhill Institute, a facility for the criminally insane. One of the patients at Ravenhill is Elijah Price, aka Mister Glass (Samuel L. Jackson), the mastermind who arranged large-scale accidents to flush out a sole survivor. He was responsible for David Dunn “awakening” to his powers.
Dr. Staple introduces Dunn, Crumb, and Price to her theory that they’re all simply delusional. She claims that the trio’s collective belief that they possess anything superhuman or supernatural is explicable by scientific reasons like brain injury or mentalism. Price, however, wants the general public to know that superheroes are real and sets in motion a series of events that he hopes will not only reveal their existence to the world but also to further push Dunn and Crumb to their full superhuman potential.
Glass possesses a kinetic energy that Unbreakable and Split didn’t have and didn’t need. The characters in those two films were more cerebral in how they approached situations. In Unbreakable, the sole “action” sequence is fairly dull but excitement wasn’t the point. Split features a chase scene of sorts but never any true hand-to-hand combat. The events of Glass build up to a third act that is a true anti-climax. It’s made even more disappointing by the fact that it takes sitting through (and thoroughly enjoying) two full movies and two-thirds of another just to be let down. Hard.
Unbreakable meticulously deconstructed comic books and superhero movies and played with audience expectations. Glass starts off doing the same type of thing. Unfortunately, when it gets to the “showdown,” as Mister Glass calls it, Glass shatters.
It’s not all bad, though. James McAvoy turns in another spectacular performance as the “The Horde.” His ability to change his voice, mannerisms, and facial expressions as each of the personalities steps into “the light” is the biggest highlight of Glass (as it was with Split.) Bruce Willis conveys that he’s accepted his role as a protector and he’s got a good rapport with his on-screen son (Spencer Treat Clark.) I wish they had more scenes together. Samuel L. Jackson doesn’t get to ham it up as much as he did in Unbreakable but he’s clearly enjoying himself.
Glass isn’t a terrible movie. It just feels that Shyamalan was unsure what he wanted to do with the series and decided to end the trilogy in such a way that leaves the audience with more questions than satisfactory answers. It’s never a good sign, though, when one of those questions is, “What the hell just happened?”
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
Buy on Amazon!
