I went into Glass with reasonably high expectations, being a fan of both Unbreakable and Split… Though I must admit, as with any film made by M. Night Shyamalan, I had my concerns that it may trail off into somewhat of a convoluted mess, and, to a certain point, I was right to be concerned.
By no means is this a bad film, in fact I really enjoyed the majority of this superhero flick and make no mistake, this feels more like a superhero movie than it does anything else and they want you to know it. This choice of direction definitely makes this feel more of a sequel to Unbreakable than a climax to a franchise that included a psychological thriller like Split but I am a massive fan of comic book movies, especially ensemble pieces so I was all in for this direction.
James McAvoy steals the show once again reviving his role as Kevin Wendall Crumb (And of course many others) – The way he seamlessly jumps between the multiple characters that live within ‘The Horde’ is nothing short of incredible; every time he is on screen my interest would peak, and given the amount of screen time he is given, it seems the film makers were aware of this too. This is not to say that Bruce Willis back as David Dunn did not do a great job here; it was wonderful to see him back in this role and to see him interact with Crumb was an absolute joy, especially in the first act. Not to be out shined Samuel L. Jackson is also back as the villain of the piece, Elijah Price, AKA Mr Glass. Movies like this remind me of why I love Sam. Jackson so much, although it’s been over 18 years since the first time he portrayed this character it feels like he’s never been away and comfortably slips back into Elijah’s shoes, captivating the audience with every scene he’s involved in.
Unfortunately it’s their supporting characters that let them down; Anya Taylor-Joy is back as Casey Cooke, but this time around her role and intentions are just baffling, and left me scratching my head as to what M. Night was thinking when he wrote this script for her. Similar things can be said for David’s son Joseph Dunn (Spencer Treat Clark) and Elijah’s Mother (Charlayne Woodard) as well, though it must be said that Sarah Paulson is brilliant as Dr Ellie Staple, continually doing a great job throughout, being the middle man between these larger than life characters, but sometimes it felt like she was fighting against a less than perfect script.
The pacing of this film is questionable, within the first act I was blown away by the spectacular action scenes and captivating interactions between these wonderful characters, but as the film progresses certain plotholes begin to appear; it’s nothing too concerning, though, as the majority of the film is still incredibly enjoyable, if not a little slow… Though by the third act, things begin to unravel into a bit of a mess and I believe it’s going to be the ending of Glass that really splits audiences. For me, I was left a little disappointed, but it didn’t take away from the good that had come before it, and I left the cinema feeling a lot more satisfaction and delight than I did disappointment.
If you’re a fan of both Unbreakable and Split, then I’m sure you will find a lot here to love, though Glass is certainly not without its problems. The main characters are a joy to watch but there are times when you feel the script and the plot simply does not do them justice. The third act will undoubtedly divide audiences, but for me the earlier parts of the movie were so much fun that I was able to forgive some of what came after, and left the cinema feeling like I had just enjoyed a great thrill ride with just a few bumps a long the way.
I give Glass a: