Dog’s Movie House: “Glass” A Little More Than Half Full!

Howdy Folks!  It’s The Kendog with a look at M. Night Shyamalan’s “Glass”, the final film in a trilogy that began with “Unbreakable” way back in 2000.

Samuel L. Jackson Returns As Mr. Glass In The Thriller “Glass”

Shyamalan is a talented filmmaker who is a bit hit or miss with me.  I enjoyed “Split,” the second film in the series but was a little cool on the pacing and sudden ending of “Unbreakable.”  For me “Glass” falls somewhere in the middle.

“Glass” picks up right after the ending of “Split” and finds the hero from “Unbreakable” David Dunn (Bruce Willis) doing his vigilante thing with the help of his now adult son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark).  His latest target in none other than Kevin Wendall Crumb (James McAvoy), he of 24 personalities from “Split.”  Called “The Horde” by the press, Crumb has kidnapped four girls with plans to sacrifice them to his monstrous “Beast” personality.   Dunn manages to intervene but in the process both are captured and sent to a mental institution in the care of on Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson) a doctor who specializes in treating people who think they are superheroes.   Not coincidentally her other patient is one Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), the villainous Mr. Glass from “Unbreakable.”   Price has been in a catatonic state for ten of the nineteen years he’s been incarcerated (or has he?) but the arrival of both Dunn and Crumb stir something inside of him.

Thus begins an interesting but not always exciting film attempting to further deconstruct the idea of the superhero.  Only this time the references to comic books seems a little dated.  Back in 2000, the superhero boom was in its infancy and “Unbreakable’s” unique take on the genre seemed fresh and new.  Now, with comic book movies breaking records all over the place the ideas in “Glass” seem kind of dated now.   Shyamalan stays true to his vision though and if you liked the 2000 film, “Glass” is going to be right up your alley.

The performances by the three leads and Paulson are all very good, but McAvoy is the reason to see “Glass.”  He’s phenomenal here, switching personalities at the drop of a hat to both humorous and horrifying effect.  He’s also the source of the film’s humor as the rest of the film is something of a dour affair, including the ending.  Speaking of the ending, “Glass” has a least three big reveals, two of which make sense and another that kind of comes out of left field.   The few action scenes are grounded and well done and Shyamalan, a master of cinematic atmosphere, presents a constant feeling of dread throughout, even if it doesn’t always pay off in a satisfactory manner.

All in all, “Glass” is a mostly entertaining, occasionally frustrating caper to an ambition trio of pictures that definitely have something different to say about comic book and the heroes that inhabit them.  3 1/2 Out Of 5 On Kendog’s Barkometer!  So Sayeth The Kendog!