Glass resumes where we left off with Split. If you did not see Split and Unbreakable, sorry, you have no business reading this review or watching Glass (or maybe you are the ideal audience because you won’t know what a departure in story quality Glass is in comparison to its two predecessors). Bruce Willis, the hero of Unbreakable, is looking for The Beast, the rampaging villain of Split. I wish that this part of the movie were longer because it is the best part. We get to see Willis and James McAvoy, who plays The Beast and numerous other characters, do their thing, which is thrilling, and everything that I hoped for at the end of Split; however the movie is named Glass, not Unbreakable versus The Beast so somehow, we have to get them in a room with him, which will be kind of hard considering how Unbreakable ends.
If you have seen the preview for Glass, you can vaguely guess what happened to get them in the same room although it is still a pretty neat twist, which I hoped was a delay in satisfaction that would be richly rewarded by the end of the film. It was not. The movie that you may have imagined while watching the preview was better than the reality. At this point, walk right out. Glass is a huge disappointment. Fans of Unbreakable and Split would be better served if they left the theater after this initial showdown and used their imagination to complete the story instead of letting M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass ruin your memory of these beloved characters and their stories. I’m going to pretend like it never existed.
Side note: we finally get a hero name for Willis’ character, and while I didn’t hate it, I didn’t love it. It was probably the earliest indication that this story didn’t get what we loved about both movies and these characters. It is an example of how not as much thought, time and effort is invested in the established characters as it is in continuing the universe that they inhabit, which we only care about because they are in it so if Shyamalan is cynically making a move to expand the franchise without being dependent on such big names, he can forget it. I may be a completist, but my DVD player and various streaming devices are working just fine. You will not get another red cent from me.
While all the actors give magnificent performances, the story just isn’t up to snuff. Instead watch The Last Jedi. We can all be Skywalkers if you just believe in yourself and don’t let the Empire make you doubt yourself. I think the message is decent, but ultimately empty because
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the final girl from Split is disappointingly not activated after a lot of teasers in both films that she would be. At least end Glass by showing me at least one activated character who believes, and if not her, anyone. Instead it is another big letdown. Video goes viral all the time without anything happening. It is a flash in the pan. Shyamalan doth protest too much that this movie is the last in the universe if he devotes so much time to implying that more heroes will emerge. If you want to end the story, create a satisfying denouement for the characters that we know and love, but he doesn’t even accomplish that.
Shyamalan killed all the main characters in the most ignoble way. Glass breaks (the best one because karma). Beauty killed The Beast. Willis gets drowned in a fucking puddle! I was big mad about that. “Let them fight.” While I like Elijah’s mom despite her raising a monster and think that Willis’ somewhat psycho son has grown up to be a relatively decent man who probably needs to have a life outside his dad, I did not pay $8 to see them. I also didn’t pay $8 to see a new group of villains. I like Sarah Paulson and would love her to become the lead in another movie.
Also it felt as if Shyamalan saw Glass as a way to rehabilitate the titular character and make him seem more (anti-) heroic instead of a villain. I liked Mr. Glass as a villain and did not need that reframing. He seems to have the same impulse for The Beast when he recharacterizes him as an avenging angel. You missed the part about him eating teenage girls. That stink doesn’t come off. The very end of the movie felt like an ouroboros as it included multiple flashbacks from the prior movies and Glass hoping that our memories and good will would help us enjoy Glass more. Sorry, but it had the opposite effect on me except side note: Willis is hotter now. I never understood why people found Willis hot before, but I’m there and ready to get on the back of the line no matter how long.
Until the denouement, Glass is also not well directed. The first fight scene comes from an odd perspective as if Willis had a camera on his chest facing him. It is the worst combination of shaky cam and feeling as if you were there. Shyamalan was obsessed with medium shots. I often wanted him to back up or give the characters some space. I know that he doesn’t have tons of money for special effects, but that didn’t stop him from making beautiful movies before, but it is as if he lost his vision and perspective, which is a more severe loss than his uneven story record.
The twist was lame. On the surface, it makes Glass’ unnecessary evil cover story feel like a letdown and anti-climatic. Isn’t it enough to just want to escape? Willis doesn’t want them to escape so he doesn’t need an elaborate plan to sign on. The Beast is a cannibal and can’t get his preferred snacks with all the lights flashing. (Also dumbass, stop flashing the lights because you could trigger The Beast.) Also I could see the party pooper conspiracy coming from the beginning because Paulson’s character seemed disproportionately mad at David. If they were the law, Willis is going to be found not guilty by a jury even if he broke all the laws. So while I didn’t completely see it coming, I wasn’t left gasping in surprise. Also I don’t care about your three-leaf clover.
I knew that I had high expectations for Glass so disappointment would be inevitable, but it is a complete letdown because it is hard to believe that the same person that can create characters that you love is clueless regarding why you love them. This whole movie should have been devoted to The Beast versus Willis then have Glass break out and orchestrate something to achieve his coming out party. Let villains be villains and heroes be heroes. And don’t introduce any new elements to the universe and mythology if you don’t want to introduce new stories. Shyamalan has lost it again.
