Rating of
3/4
Glass - Review
Matthew Brady - wrote on 03/02/19
“This was an origin story the whole time”.
Eastrail 177 trilogy, a franchise we didn’t expect to exist or needed, but M. Night Shyamalan surprise us once again with his twist and turns.
After the unexpected hit of ‘Split’, people were warming up for Shyamalan’s follow up ‘Glass’, and the return of familiar faces like David Dunn, Kevin and Mr. Glass himself. By continuing with the grounded approach towards superheroes while making the fantasy aspects implanted into reality. And of course the unnatural dialogue, a usual trademark for Shyamalan. While I don’t think ‘Glass’ is as bad as people made it out to be, but not to say it’s perfect or great, just plenty of missed opportunities in an already solid conclusion.
M. Night Shyamalan manage to craft a trilogy that took him over a decade to make. If you keep in mind of how popular superheroes are now - this stands out from the rest, as being both compelling and meaningful. While Shyamalan is a 50/50 director, but I can tell there’s passion in everything he makes, even if it doesn’t work out and makes questionable decisions. His ego died along time ago and him going back to smaller budget movies is the right move. There’s plenty of long times, close ups and a clever way of structuring the films pace. We start with Dunn, then we follow Kevin, and finally Elijah. Coincidence?
The cinematography is solid with a beautiful mixture of colours and the music perfectly fits with the characters and story.
James McAvoy returns as Kevin, the man with crowded personalities with an extra set of new faces. It’s amazing how McAvoy can switch between the different characters and make it look so effortlessly, sometimes in a blink of an eye. A mixture of colorful personalities with comedic moments, but there are personalities that can be vicious and a force to be reckon with. So it comes to no surprise he’s the strongest element of this movie.
Now I joked in the past about Bruce Willis cold attitude towards his recent roles. I mean, just watch the ‘RED 2’ interview, it’s hilarious how he doesn't hide it. When Willis cares, he’s great, so it’s incredibly sad seeing him lose any care to not only in his performances, but in film choices. In 'Glass', Willis is stilted, but at the same time grounded in his reactions and facial expressions. There was a point midway through through where the film seemed to forget about Dunn. While not a come back role, but at least I see his interest in the story, character and director. By the way, I’m still a fan of him.
Samuel L. Jackson is great as the genius, yet wickedly evil Mr. Glass. Despite his disease (brittle bone disease) keeping him permanent in a wheelchair, but that doesn't stop him. It’s psychological manipulation that gives him power and makes him truly dangerous. There’s a great little moment in a scene (without spoilers) where he watches someone die right in front of him, and he leans forward and watches in amusement.
The other supporting cast are pretty good as well. Anya Taylor-Joy is good as always, but unfortunately doesn’t have anything to do here. I’m glad they brought back Spencer Treat Clark, who played David Dunn’s son in ‘Unbreakable’ and now working with his dad to track down and stop criminal activity. He really gives an emotional performance, especially towards the end. Sarah Paulson is fine in the movie, but I don’t like where her character goes in the third act, which goes into my issues.
As I said before, it’s a flawed movie. While I thought the second act was still pretty good, but was nowhere near as solid as the first act. I’ve got mixed feelings about the ending, because at first I like how bleak it is, basically saying in real life, the villains win. However, the twist itself gets so bizarre it leaves more holes in the story.
Overall rating: A clunky movie that will popularize audiences for along time, but at least didn’t play it safe like most superhero movies.
“It’s not so bad being in the light.”
