WARNING
This review contains spoilers from Unbreakable and Split. If you haven't seen either movie and want to read further, be sure to watch both movies before continuing.After the critical and commercial success of Unbreakable, rumors of a sequel started to emerge. However, despite Willis, Jackson, and Shyamalan being onboard, the studio opted not to move forward. While working on that film, Shyamalan had created a character known as “The Beast” that was scrapped for balancing issues. Eventually, Shyamalan incorporated the character into the 2017 thriller Split, naming him Kevin Wendell Crumb. Because he wanted the two movies to link, Shyamalan added Willis’ David Dunn character at the end. This eventually led to Shyamalan deciding to make this into a trilogy, assuming that Split would succeed. Thankfully, the film was such a hit that Shyamalan was able to move forward with his third entry. However, with Disney owning the rights to Unbreakable, an agreement was made for them to work alongside Universal. So, after much anticipation, 2019 brings us Shymalan’s third installment, Glass.
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Rating
The film takes place 19 years after the events of Unbreakable and three weeks after the events of Split. David Dunn (Bruce Willis) runs a security store by day, and stops crime as “The Overseer” by night. With the help of his son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark), Dunn is tracking down Kevin, aka “The Horde”, (James McAvoy). After freeing some high school cheerleaders Kevin kidnapped, the two fight it outside until being stopped by authorities. They’re placed in a mental institution where they meet Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson), who believes they’re suffering from psychosis. At the same institute is Elijah “Mr. Glass” Prince (Samuel L. Jackson), who has been catatonic for years. Dr. Staple tries to convince the three that they don’t have superpowers, but are suffering from delusions of grandeur. But soon, Glass starts planning his escape with help from The Beast and David has to stop them.
First off, let me discuss the things about the movie that I did enjoy, as there’s a lot to like. For one, the acting in the movie is quite strong overall, not a single one falling flat. Like in Split, McAvoy still gives a stellar performance with his multiple personalities, each one distinguishable from another. Jackson, when he actually has something to do, does a good job as Elijah and still comes across as intimidating. Bruce Willis, who’s lately been sleepwalking through his roles, seems to actually care here and delivers a good performance. Sarah Paulson does a good job as she usually does, but her dialogue scenes tend to drag on and on. Also, in addition to Spencer Treat Clark, both Charlayne Woodard and Anya Taylor-Joy return and have some good moments. In addition to the acting, the action sequences are well-choreographed and exciting to watch.
Unfortunately, while Shyamalan clearly tried since he had wanted to do this movie for years, the movie kinda falls flat. At times, the movie seems to not know if it’s a sequel to Unbreakable or to Split. It almost comes across like Shyamalan couldn’t figure out how to combine the two movies together and make it work. Also, while the first act is pretty solid, things start to drag in the second act, almost to a halt. It does start to pick up in the third act, but the ending leaves a lot to be desired. Without going into spoilers, I’m very conflicted about the ending, in that it’s interesting but it’s also kind of upsetting. While it does set up some interesting ideas, it also comes across as a bit of an insult. So overall, Glass has some good elements, but falls flat as the end of a trilogy.
