Movie Review: Glass (2019)

Glass (2019) written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan

David Dunn (Bruce Willis), hero of Unbreakable, is living life nineteen years later. He runs a home security store. The store is a front for the lair downstairs where he and his son work on hero opportunities that use David's superpowers to help people. Their latest project is hunting down The Horde (James McAvoy, portraying a man with twenty-four different personalities) who has kidnapped some cheerleaders, much like he did in Split. David and his son manage to find the Horde's lair and David frees the cheerleaders. The cops show up and turn over David and the Horde to a psychologist (Sarah Paulson). She is an expert on people who think they are superheroes like in the comic books. They are taken to the same institution where Elijah (Samuel L. Jackson), the brilliant Mr. Glass from Unbreakable, has been kept for the past nineteen years. They go through a pysch ward drama that questions whether they have super powers or not.

The psych ward drama is less convincing but helps to underscore the main theme, which is how comic books can be a compelling narrative which is, according to Elijah, a true narrative of how people are. The story is slower and more intense at the mental hospital, making it more vague about where the story is going. Action sequences take a backseat to the exploration of comic book tropes and how they might manifest in real life. I found the theme really interesting, if a bit overdeveloped by the end.

The movie is an interesting sequel to both Unbreakable and Split, uniting the two stories seamlessly and playing on the strengths of each. The movie's main challenge is trying to combine comic book ideas in real life situations, which works more or less smoothly depending on the trope. Some of the tropes feel forced and make for a less satisfying twist at the end. I did enjoy the film but it is not as great as Unbreakable.

Recommended.

Movie Review: Split (2017)

Split (2017) written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Three young women are abducted by a guy (James McAvoy) who has twenty-three different personalities vying for control. The girls meet three or four of those personalities in the opening twenty minutes of the film. Some of those personalities clearly want to do harm; others are friendly and would be helpful except they are aware of the other personalities and nervous about what could happen. The problem is interesting and creates unexpected challenges for the three girls, who are way out of their field of expertise.

Oddly enough, the guy is seeing a counselor, Dr. Fletcher, who is trying to help suppress the less desirable personalities and encourage the more benevolent ones. She has her own interest in the guy since he's a goldmine for research and discussion with others in her field. Even though he's giving warning signs to Dr. Fletcher, she does not immediately catch on. She is a handy character since she also provides technical exposition on the guy's abilities, some of which are more convincing than others. The science is a bit wobbly but can be forgiven thanks to the strength of the performances and writing.

McAvoy does a great job performing a variety of characters, occasionally changing between them in the same scene in convincing and unnerving ways. The ultimate plan of the bad personalities, to unleash a twenty-forth personality, is one of the less convincing bits which is unfortunate since that is the dramatic focal point of the last half of the film. The overall tone of the film is a bit more pessimistic than I'm used to in Shyamalan's films. The surprise twist (the usual way he ends a film) I found unexpected and intriguing and left me wanting more, in a good way.

Recommended.