James Reviews: 'Glass'

A lot can be said for Shyamalan's career, having been once hailed as the next Steven Spielberg, only to fall from grace and spend the late 2000s and early 2010s turning out bad film after bad film. However, after 2015s The Visit, something strange started to happen, we started assuming that he was on the path to reclaiming his former glory. Then, two years later, a little movie came along called Split, a January release that garnered very positive reviews and smashed the box office. The icing on the cake was learning that it was a spin-off of Unbreakable, and that the inevitable crossover was coming soon. Fast forward to now, and there's a more mixed response in the air. While it is an inferior entry in the now named Eastraill 177 trilogy, it manages to subvert expectations without coming across as pompous or overreaching.

The film has several scenes in the beginning that take place outside the psychiatric ward where David Dunn and Kevin Wendell Crumb will later on be committed. The first of which involves Dunn dishing out justice on teenagers assaulting innocent people for Internet fame, not too far a cry from the type of stuff "clout chasers" will do and post online. It's a demonstration of how the world of Unbreakable has evolved with the times in the nearly two decades since we last saw the Overseer, without having to name drop a specific site or make a social media joke in order to stay relevant. Dunn's vigilantism soon crosses paths with Crumb and his "Beast" personality, resulting in a fight and the two getting capture and committed. It's there that we meet Elijah Price a.k.a. Mr. Glass, and the story truly begins.

When it came to the performances, the question wasn't how well would each actor play their respective role, but rather how they would contradict or interact with one another. No scene provides a better example then the interview between Sarah Paulsons' Dr. Ellie Staple and the three players of this superhero tale. Bruce Willis brings a sense of energy that has been lacking in his recent movies, so to see that spark come alive when his character is pitted against someone who could be their match is a welcome sight. David and Kevin react differently when faced with the fact that they may not be superhuman, although they are both in denial; the former is saddened while the latter is furious. It takes the fantastical elements of hero vs. villain and places them in a reality driven set, explaining that their so-called "powers" may be simply delusions of grandeur.

One detail to note when watching the film is the colour scheme, as it's a subtle notion on who's controlling the scene. With the hallway being glossed in pink and the cells being completely white, it's clear that Dunn, Price, nor Crumb are in control of their situation. Colour plays a dramatic role, whether it's lighting or the clothes the characters wear, delivering a form of subtext to each scene. Speaking of which, comic books and the tropes that come with them are referenced several times throughout, illustrating the parallels between the movie's reality and the fiction that lies within the pages of a graphic novel.

This does lead into a fault of the movie, as it promises a climax of epic proportions, but ultimately only makes it as far as the exterior of the hospital. It's fair to assume that this may be due to what we've come to expect from closing chapters of superhero stories; not so much the quality of the film itself, however, it's also fair to say that it made for a disappointing final battle. Not to mention, there are the plot twists that Shyamalan likes to throw in for surprise value. They're not outlandishly The Happening level of bad, but they happen within such a short time space of each other that one feels completely rushed thanks to the other.

Despite an unfulfilled promise of a grandiose conclusion, Glass still maintains elements of mystery and thrills that were present in the previous installments. It's not perfect, in fact the third act is somewhat flawed, but it's a fresh take on superheroes, one that came exclusively from the mind of a single filmmaker with a vision.

Rating: 6.5/10 Solid