Glass (2019) Review

Short Version

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Glass starts off pretty promising continuing both the stories of Split and Unbreakable but cracks start to show as the movie progresses with one particular character's behavior being very off. James McAvoy is the MVP once again with all the personalities of the horde but it's nice to see Bruce Willis back, Sam Jackson is pretty good once he finally shows up in the movie and my personal favorite would be David Dunn's son who is played by the same actor as in Unbreakable. The action is decent though depending if you care or notice how the budget may have limited the number of locations and when Bruce Willis is using a stunt double. Despite the movie being called Glass, Mr. Glass himself is largely absent till midway through the movie. The ending is understandable but is quite unsatisfying and the very end scene is a bit strange. 

Extended

Continuing the M. Night Shyamalan's return to prominence we have the conclusion this Eastrail 117 Trilogy Glass. Both a sequel to Unbreakable and  2016's Split, Glass caps off the trilogy releasing nearly 20 years after the first installment Unbreakable. Glass combines the casts of Split and Unbreakable and while not exactly a bad movie it does leave a lot of be desired.

ACTING!!!

ACTING!!!

Glass is a strange beast, even though its named after Samuel L Jackson Character Elijah Price aka Mr. Glass he does not really become a prominent part of the movie until around half way. The first act of the movie acts focuses on being the sequel to Unbreakable and Split we see Bruce Willis David Dunn where he has ended up while also tracking James McAvoy's Kevin Wendell Crum/ The Horde. Most of the focus is on David and I think this part of the movie works really well. We see him interact with his son who is played by the same actor, we don’t see as much of the Horde but we do see what's happened since and the identities make the rounds as they do in Split. If you have not seen the trailer spoiler alert but eventually everyone gets captured and the focus shifts to Sarah Paulson character Dr. Ellie Staple who is all about debunking the supernatural abilities of the main characters trying to convince them that they are normal. Other than that Casey from Split and Elijah mother also show up and eventually as mentioned in the trailers the bad guys look to team up and things go from there.

If this jacket is on and you cant see his face its probably a stunt double. Safety First

If this jacket is on and you cant see his face its probably a stunt double. Safety First

I think the premise is pretty good, there's a bit of mystery with Sarah Paulson character trying to convince David and The Horde that they are normal may or may not make you questions what's going on as well. However there are parts of the movie that are problematic, don’t make much sense, are kind of strange and in some cases don’t really work. These things are enough of an issue for me to say that Glass is probably the worst movie in the series. There are definitely some cool things happening especially the first act being a direct continuation of Unbreakable and Split is really cool. Also the more realistic take on superheroes is quite interesting in a world movies like Aquaman and the Avenger's really lean on Fantasy.

Ill try not to mention spoilers but the main issues I found with the movie are Mr. Glass not really being much of the focus till later, Casey's behavior towards the Horde and the strange ending. There are other issues here and there that will be mentioned at the end. All of these detract from what is otherwise a pretty alright movie in my opinion. Again the first act is good, the premise is good. James McAvoy is the MVP again for his performance, though my favorite character would probably be Joseph Dunn played by the same actor in Unbreakable, its really cool seeing him back and he plays his part well. I thought the action was decent and the how things progress was generally alright. But as with the name of the movie there are some cracks and by the end it ends up a lesser film that it could have been.

 

Overall I still mostly enjoyed Glass, the Eastrail 117 trilogy is a very unique trilogy and I think it’s a cool thing. However unfortunately Glass is the weakest installment and ultimately there is a bunch of stuff that just drags down the movie.

 

6/10

The marketing for the movie was very well done.

The marketing for the movie was very well done.


Spoiler Thoughts


My main issue with the film was Casey's behavior to the Horde, after the traumatic events of Split, its very bizarre the nonchalant she seems about it. I get that Casey had sympathy for the Horde and I understand her wanting to help but the affection she shows for Kevin who she did not have much interaction with in Split it's just very odd. Especially since she managed to put her Uncle away for Molesting her now she seems all good with the man who killed and ate 2 of the classmates and chased her around the zoo. Again it's so strange and I'm not sure if it does not look that bad if you have not seen split but it just takes issues with Split and exacerbates them.

The other issue: the ending. I understand that not everyone could survive but the death of the Overseer seems out of place especially after Mr. Glass mentions to his mother has he is dying that this is an Origin story.