Glass Movie Review
2.5 out of 5
Jeremy Wood
Man, I wanted to like this film. I mean, I really wanted to like this film. Even when M. Knight Shyamalan’s films have missed, I remained a fan of his — just because I knew what he was capable of. After years in the wilderness, he quietly started to get things back together with The Visit in 2015. Though it mostly flew under the radar — it was Shyamalan getting back to his roots, and the great talent he has at telling a story and catching you off guard with an unforeseen twist. It wasn’t the best film he had ever done — but it was a spark, that showed he still had “it” somewhere deep inside. Then in 2016, he released Split, and he was back. The movie had it all. Great storytelling, amazing acting — especially from James McAvoy, beautiful cinematography, and perhaps the twist of all twists: an origin story for a bad guy who existed in the same universe as the movie Unbreakable, starring Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson. I walked out of that theater and just could not wait to watch it again, and then count down the days to the inevitable sequel. Indeed, once that cat was out of the bag — Shyamalan announced he was already at work on the third film of the series, and that it would begin production soon. And all was right with the world…Or so I thought.
It’s not that Glass is a bad film. It’s not. It’s just not what I was hoping for. The feeling I had as the movie wore on, and finally ended was similar to the feeling I had when I saw The Village all the way back in 2004. After seeing the The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs, and then watching the trailer for The Village — I thought I was in for a terrific horror movie made in the same vain as the aforementioned films. But in the end, it was hugely disappointing, and began Shyamalan’s time in movie purgatory, as he followed that one up with Lady in the Water, The Happening, Devil, The Last Airbender and After Earth. Again, it was not a horrible movie — it just wasn’t what was expected and went off the rails of what had made M. Knight so successful previously.
Glass pretty much picks up right where Split left off, just mere weeks after McAvoy’s Herd has escaped from the zoo where he hid and killed two teenaged girls, with one spared in Anya Taylor-Joy’s character, Casey Cooke. Bruce Willis’ David Dunn is still doing what he did in Unbreakable, by tracking down and ridding the town of bad guys with vigilante justice and saving lives in the process. He and his son are actively looking for the Herd, who has again kidnapped 3 girls, in order to feed The Beast. Not long into the film, Dunn finds the girls and has a knockdown, drag out fight with The Beast — when they both are captured by police. Rather than jail — both men are escorted to and held in a mental health hospital where Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) also resides. Here we are introduced to Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson), who is there to interview and work with the three men in order to convince them they are not in fact superheroes, but just regular men who have a complex that leads them to these delusions of grandeur. And this is where the movie goes sideways. Instead of delving into each of the character we have come to see, we are subjected to long periods of time watching Mr. Glass sit in a drugged stupor, David Dunn looking confused and sad, and James McAvoy’s immense talents wasted as he changes from character to character — with no tension whatsoever. We just watch them get interviewed over and over, and by the time they are all let loose to wreak havoc — it’s over just as quickly as it started. And again, it’s just anti-climactic as the big fight scenes aren’t dark or compelling — they’re just fight scenes you’ve seen in a million other movies.
The film would have been so much better if both Dunn and the Herd had never been captured and they had a giant game of cat and mouse throughout the movie, with Dunn trying to stop the Herd only to find out that Mr. Glass has been manipulating them both the whole time. That’s what I was waiting for…And it happened to a degree, but mostly in a sterile environment with little to no action throughout the film. Instead, we are treated to what felt like “The Dummy’s Guide to Understanding Comic Book Heroes and Villains.” It just fell flat, and frankly was a bit boring for long stretches of time. I hate to say that. I like M. Knight Shyamalan when he’s right. But this might take a while for him to dig out of again. Let’s just hope it doesn’t take as long this time.
Glass is currently playing, and is rated PG-13 for violence, including some bloody images, thematic elements, and language.
