Glass (2019) Review

"First name, Mister.  Last name: Glass."

-Elijah Price

With more and more of his personalities joining the ranks of The Horde, Kevin Crumb (James McAvoy)'s body has been taken over by The Beast and is kidnapping and killing innocent girls.  David Dunn (Bruce Willis) attempts to stop The Beast, which results in both of them being put in a mental institution, where Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) is also being held.  Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson tries to convince them they all have delusions of grandeur and none of them have any superpowers, but Elijah is plotting a grand scheme and he'll need both David and The Horde to pull it off.

What Works:

Once again, I have to give major props to James McAvoy.  We get to see even more of his personalities in this film and he does a phenomenal job.  He shifts from personality to personality with alarming frequency in Glass, but, once again, McAvoy manages to juggle them and make each personality feel distinct.

Samuel L. Jackson is also fantastic.  I would argue he is the main protagonist of this film, though that is definitely debatable, and it's really interesting to see events from his perspective.  Jackson's scenes with McAvoy are by far the best in the film and both actors give it their all.

I really like what Glass does with its examination of comics and superheroes.  While watching it, I thought it was like the Scream of superhero movies, with the characters being familiar with the tropes and addressing them.  Elijah even implements aspects of comics into his plans.  But what I really liked is that the movie itself doesn't really follow the guidelines of comic books.

Spoilers ahead.  A quick verdict, I liked this movie more than most people seem to, but it's not as good as Unbreakable or Split.

The film sets up what should be the grand finale; a battle at the opening of a new skyscraper.  This has classic superhero showdown written all over it, but we never get there.  Instead, our third act takes place just outside the walls of the institution.  Like in Unbreakable, this is a realistic take on a superhero story.  The fact that we never get to this grand showdown is something I really appreciate.  Instead, the final battle is in a parking lot, which feels appropriate.

I guess what I enjoyed most of all is the type of superhero movie this is.  For a long time now, I've been getting a little burned out of the grand superhero films from both Marvel and DC.  I like the movies, but I've been craving something different and Glass is that film for me.  It's such a small scale superhero story and it explores what would happen if a mentally ill serial killer had superpowers.  In short, I found Glass refreshing and it did things I've been wanting to see in a superhero film for a long time.

What Sucks:

Most of the material surrounding Sarah Paulson's character simply doesn't work.  The big reveal that she is part of a big government conspiracy falls completely flat and felt like a cop-out.  This reveal, coupled with the fate of David Dunn, take away from the ending.  It could have worked with some retooling, but this was by far the worst part of the film.

During Dr. Staple's scenes with David Dunn, she tells him he doesn't actually have powers and is just suffering from delusions.  The entire time, I was trying to figure out why he didn't just ask her to let him prove it.  Give him some metal to bend.  Let him show off his strength.  It seems like such an easy out.  By the end, it makes sense why Dr. Staple never suggested it, but why did David never suggest it?

Finally, Spencer Treat Clark returns as David's son, Joseph, and when he is given emotional material, it...doesn't work.  He is given the big emotional moment that reveals the connection between Kevin and Elijah and he should not have been the one to have that moment.  Pick any other character and I would have felt more emotion.  I got nothing from Clark.  I noticed that during his other emotional moments during the film, we don't hear anything besides the score, the rest of the sound is muted out.  That doesn't really happen with the other characters, so I'm wondering if M. Night Shyamalan realized Clark wasn't working and muted him as much as possible.  

Verdict:

Though flawed and not as good as the first two films, I enjoyed Glass.  It has a lot of elements I've been wanting to see in a superhero film for a long time, McAvoy and Jackson are terrific, and I like how it continues the realistic take on superheroes.  The 3rd act conspiracy reveal doesn't work, Spencer Treat Clark isn't very good, and there is a major plot hole I can't get over, but, for the most part, Glass has got it going on.

 7/10: Good