Glass and Throwing Stones

I was rather mixed in my opinion of M. Night Shyamalan's movie Split. But I was a big fan of Unbreakable, and that was enough that inevitably, at some point, I'd watch the completion of his unusual trilogy, Glass.

Glass places the three main characters from Split and Unbreakable -- David Dunn, Elijah Price, and Kevin Wendell Crumb -- in a mental hospital, where the inscrutable Dr. Staple tries to convince them that they're delusional for thinking they have superpowers. As their loved ones outside the hospital try to help, events seem to be moving inexorably toward a confrontation between the three men.

While it always felt like Unbreakable might be ripe for a sequel, it would be exaggeration to say that I'd been eagerly awaiting it. Good thing, too, as Glass feels like much more of a sequel to Split than to Unbreakable. Bruce Willis' character is marginalized for most of the movie, while Samuel L. Jackson's character is literally speechless and emotionless. They both feel shoehorned into a real slow burn of a story that doesn't really get moving until the final act.

But then, it's not so much that the first two-thirds of the movie are a slow burn as they are a waste of time. We the audience have seen too much of these characters' super shenanigans to ever give any credence to Dr. Staple's theory that it's all in their heads. The story thus falls into the trope of one obnoxious character trying to basically stop the story we all came here to see from happening. As presented, Dr. Staple can't be taken seriously, so we're all just marking time until the movie decides not to focus on her so much.

If you can stick it out, though, there is some cleverness in the third act. I don't so much mean that there's a classic "M. Night Shyamalan twist" that'll blow your mind. There are some surprise turns, but they aren't the strongest stuff in the movie. It's more that the movie finds its way to a message of sorts, embraces it, and finds a bit more depth as a result.

Still, the main reason to watch Glass would be for the performances. Bruce Willis is sadly rather flat, but James McAvoy really swings for the fences in a fun (sometimes over the top) way as he embodies his character's split personalities. It's also fun to watch Samuel L. Jackson play a serious villain -- particularly after so many turns as the heroic Nick Fury, and after a decidedly non-serious villain role in the first Kingsman movie. Also, as badly written a character as Dr. Staple is, it's a testament to Sarah Paulson that she's able to do anything with it.

Glass isn't truly as bad as many have said. But it's hardly essential viewing, even for a fan of Unbreakable. I give it a C.