M. Night Shyamalan is back again with his final film in the ‘Eastrail 177 trilogy’ as Glass hits cinemas, ultimately connecting the worlds of Unbreakable and Split.
Glass, set three weeks after the events of split, sees security guard David Dunn use his supernatural abilities to track Kevin Wendell Crumb, a man who suffers from an extreme case of Dissociative Identity Disorder with 23 separate personalities, alongside his 24th and probably the scariest personality, known as “The Beast”. But that’s not the only antagonist he finds himself facing as Samuel L Jackson also makes a return as former enemy Elijah Price. Clearly M. Night Shyamalan had taken ideas from Avengers: Infinity War this year as in a similar way in which the most popular superhero film brought together heroes from different movies, Glass similarly combined his two distinctive characters from the previous movies. But did it live up to what fans wanted from this new superhero movie?
Glass focuses on the dark psychological nature of the human condition.
Personally, despite the plethora of negative reviews and opinions, this movie lived up to my own expectations. Glass offered a new perspective on what defines a superhero, with thrilling and extremely on-edge, creepy scenes between newcomer Dr Staple, a psychiatrist who specialises in patients who are convinced they have abilities and the films three antagonists. I think when people went into this movie, based off the trailer, they were expecting the typical fight scenes between the archetypal hero and villain. But this isn’t what Glass is about. Glass focuses on the dark psychological nature of the human condition and while there are fight scenes, this was not the focus of the movie. Unbreakable, Split and now Glass are character-driven movies, not action action action.
Alongside this, the cast of this movie was perfect. With the brilliantly scary James McAvoy bringing back his character from Split, fans get an insight into more of Kevin’s personalities such as a flirty teen and even a personality that speaks Spanish! McAvoy does justice to the disorder to the point that it is almost scary to watch him perform. You can tell from the start the effort and work he has put in to every single line and shot and bravo to him. Glass also sees the return of Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson who undoubtedly do an astounding job of their roles, both in themselves and with one another.
The only downside to this film, giving it a 4-star rating as opposed to the golden 5 is the ending. I found myself sat in the cinema looking at my watch, back to the screen thinking “is it done yet? Oh no there’s more”. It wasn’t even that it was a long movie (I’ve watched The Lord of the Rings trilogy), it was simply that more and more kept happening. It felt more like the beginning or middle of the movie as opposed to the end. It was mind blowing.
While it will never live up to the popularity of Avengers, Glass gives returning fans the answers they’ve all been craving in a jam-packed 2 hours and is worth the watch if you enjoyed Unbreakable and Split. Or if you’re simply a fan of thrillers with a mix of action and superhero fun.
