Movie Review: Glass

By Ryan Grow | January 21, 2019

M. Night Shyamalan finally brings his superhero saga to an interesting conclusion with the ambitious Glass, now playing in theaters.

Following the conclusion of Split, Glass finds David Dunn (Bruce Wilis) pursuing Kevin Wendell Crumb’s (James McAvoy) superhuman figure of The Beast in a series of escalating encounters, while the shadowy presence of Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) emerges as an orchestrator who holds secrets critical to both men.

Glass is the writer/director’s way of concluding his trilogy of films he began 19 years ago with Unbreakable then unexpectedly continuing with the frightening, Split, in 2016. Throughout these films, he has explored the theme and concerns of how ordinary people can discover that they can do extraordinary things, which creates a hero and a villain. Whether it’s the belief in ourselves which helps to go beyond our limitations or the obsession with fictional mythology, like the ones found in comic books, that alter our own sense of reality.

Of the main players, James McAvoy once again delivers a top-rate performance. He is brilliant with his eerie physicality every time he is on screen and excels when he crazily goes through the Horde’s personalities like a human radio with a dial that can’t stop spinning. He retains the freshness and originality of his performance in Split by building both the personalities and their distinctiveness. Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis slip into their old characters like Cinderella fit into her glass slipper, although Willis doesn’t get to do as much as the others. It was really awesome to have Spencer Treat Clark, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Charlayne Woodard (as Elijah’s mother) from the earlier films return to continue their story, but they were more like side pieces instead of main characters.

Shyamalan remains an interesting director shooting close-up shoots with unique angles and diffuses even the talky scenes with a perceptible sense of fear. But sometimes his writing doesn’t really hit its mark. The eventful last 20 minutes of the film offers some big moments that are surprising and thought-provoking and a few twists. Despite some fine performances, the film doesn’t quite live up to its previous film but is still entertaining to watch.

Critic Rating: 3.5/5 stars

What did you think of Glass? Let us know in the comments below.