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: Unbreakable (2000)

Unbreakable (2000) written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan

The life of David Dunn (Bruce Willis) is falling apart. He's estranged from his wife (Robin Wright Penn) but still living together because of their young son Joseph. David is on the verge of leaving them when something unbelievable happens. On a train ride from New York, David's train wrecks and everyone on board dies except for David. David has no injuries whatsoever. He tries to go back to his life but he receives a strange note from Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson). Elijah is a comic-book expert who thinks David is an exceptional person, someone meant to be a hero. Elijah has lived his life with a debilitating condition where his bones are extremely fragile. He's so weak, shouldn't there be someone else, a polar opposite, who is unnaturally strong? And doesn't the world need people greater than normal, people who are heroes?

The story is told in a very quiet but direct way. When David is leaving the hospital after the crash, Joseph puts his parents' hands together. As soon as Joseph turns away, they let go, showing that they are not really together except for their son. Shyamalan tells a lot of the story in a similar fashion, showing an artist's touch. Big, over the top moments don't happen on screen except once or twice, and then to great effect. The actors all deliver great performances. The story is finely crafted and visually rich.

Even better is the thematic elements. David is a lost soul, without a real purpose or direction to his life. And he knows it but he doesn't know what to do about it. Elijah thinks David is meant to be a hero; his son wants him to be a hero. Accepting that vocation is a long and hard road for David and a fascinating journey for the viewers. The ending is a classic Shyamalan twist and his most powerful.

Highly recommended.