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Glass Movie Review: James McAvoy is a revelation in this glass half empty M. Night Shyamalan superhero film
Glass Movie Review: M. Night Shyamalan has had a weird history when it comes to his repertoire of movies and with Glass, you see how desperately he tries to bring back his USP.
Glass
Glass Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Glass Cast: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Bruce Willis, Sarah Paulson, Samuel L. Jackson
Stars: 2.5/5
Do you really believe comic books are real and that superheroes exist amongst us? That's the psychological dissection of M. Night Shyamalan' Eastrail 177 Trilogy.
When you enter the theatre screen to watch an M. Night Shyamalan movie, you can expect anything but the ordinary. 19 years ago, this very man gave us a different perspective on how we look at the superhero genre with David Dunn (Bruce Willis), a vigilante and Elijah Price aka Mr Glass (Samuel L. Jackson) in Unbreakable. In 2017, the thriller was interspersed with horror shown through Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy), in Split. Two years later and the cult franchise finally gets its trilogy with Glass. And just like Kevin suffers from DID (dissociative identity disorder), so does Shyamalan's latest outing.
Glass brings together the story of the titular three characters - Dunn, Crumb and the evil mastermind Mr Glass. The storyline takes off where Split left us as David and his son Joseph (reprised by Spencer Treat Clark) are on the hunt to find The Beast (one of the 21 personalities of Kevin). Their first encounter is a deadly one and leads them into a mental facility under the supervision of Dr Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson), who treats patients who believe they are superhuman. However, all these characters are mere puppets in Glass' own visionary of destruction and it's not just a limited edition, but an origin story of the bad guys.
"I'm not ordinary, mama," is whispered by Elijah in a critical scene and paralleled to this is Shyamalan's film. When it comes to the performances, it's McAvoy who steals the show yet again. It's his unpredictability to play multiple characters in the span of two minutes which almost seems like an acting resume worthy of major applause. To play 21 characters with that much ease is almost criminal. It's his vulnerability that gets to you when he interacts with the returning Anya Taylor-Joy as Casey Cook, The Beast's only victim who survived his wrath. Anya, in a brief yet impactful role, is the heart of the film. Willis takes a backseat for this one and it's not one of his most memorable performances that people will remember. For a film named after his character, it'a not until the second half that we actually see Jackson, but he's roaring after one particular scene which is predictable yet gasp-worthy (no spoilers from my end). Spencer and Charlayne Woodard as Joseph and Elijah's mother bring the nostalgia and emotional factor which packs a punch. Sarah, who is the latest addition as Ellie is just as creepy as Kevin, and she plays a singular personality!
There are some spectacular scenes which will be a talking point for years, specifically when David, Elijah and Kevin are questioned by Ellie if they really believe that they are superheroes. The sheer insanity of the trio sums up the trilogy for you.
M. Night Shyamalan has had a weird history when it comes to his repertoire of movies and with Glass, you see how desperately he tries to bring back his USP. While the thought behind Glass to be an epic ending is honest, the movie lacks the innocence of Unbreakable and the madness of Split. The performances are spectacular but even a loyal Shyamalan fan would dissect the movie and be like wtf! The first climax of Glass is predictable at best and so is the second and the third. That being said, you are still left satisfied to a certain extent with what happened to these three anti-heroes, who were superheroes of the real kind.
Luke Ciarrocchi and Blu Murray have weaved Glass to Unbreakable and Split beautifully and so much so, that you are not left confused even if you have not caught up on the former films. The background score by West Dylan Thordson is the real winner of the movie and keeps us on our toes while revelling in the characters in that particular scene. I had a major issue with the action sequences (with no help from the cinematographer) which seemed to be suffering from brittle-bones themselves. Yes, pun intended. However, the dark and gritty texture attached inside the facility in contrast from the outside was a nice touch.
So is Glass worth a watch? While the performances form an 'unbreakable' bond and lure you in, Shyamalan's superhero thriller 'splits' you in two minds and it's a glass that's half full, half empty and could have been so much better.
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