'Glass' Is a Logical, Solid Culmination

Glass is the sequel to both Unbreakable and Split, and serves as the convergence and culmination of their respective storylines.

In it, David Dunn a.k.a. The Overseer (Bruce Willis), Kevin Wendell Crumb a.k.a. The Horde (James McAvoy), and Elijah Price a.k.a. Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson) are all held together in a psychiatric hospital headed by Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson), who asserts that the three don’t really have superpowers, but are simply suffering from a strong delusion that makes them believe that they do, and that there’s a reasonable, practical explanation to every instance in their lives that has given them the impression that they are superhuman.

Just like Unbreakable, Glass is a slow-paced, cerebral, down-to-earth spin on the superhero genre.  Through a self-aware, unique, and very thematic narrative, it deconstructs comic book ethos with effective precision and transcending commentary.

The direction is nothing short of excellent.  It has some very slick camera work and well-thought-out shot compositions.  And the sound design is splendidly chilling.

Performances are praiseworthy all around.  Most notable is from James McAvoy, who is once again incredible as he switches between his character’s multiple personalities.

I don’t get why others complain of Glass being a lukewarm conclusion to the Unbreakable saga.  For me, it’s pretty solid.  I genuinely feel that M. Night Shyamalan has simply brought the stuff he established in Unbreakable and Split onto their logical next level.  You may not like where he took it, but I believe you would be wrong if you say it doesn’t make sense.

One way I can see why some may be disappointed of it is because he or she may feel that the arcs of its main characters end with a whimper rather than a bang.  However, there are no glorious climaxes for the character arcs – or, at least, how such has been defined in a typical, spectacle-oriented superhero narrative – because Glass is not that kind of movie.  Where the arcs end up is only consistent with what Shyamalan is obviously going for.  But that’s just my opinion.

Another disappointment can be the lack of a big, movie-changing Shyamalan plot twist.  The movie does have a couple of stimulating twists-and-turns that are in the same vein as those in psychological thrillers like The Prestige, but it doesn’t have the same kind of amazing mindblower that Split had.  I also wish Glass had a Split-level surprise, but I don’t think it became a lesser movie because it doesn’t have it.

It has no post-credits scene, but I think having one would have made it an even better movie.  It would have been nice to see a hint of where the new era that Mr. Glass has heralded is going.  It would have also given the end of the story a more definitive feel.

In relation to this, I would also definitely love if Shyamalan chooses to make a spin-off film to follow up on this.

Glass is absolutely one of the best films I’ve seen in 2019 so far.  And I’m fairly confident that people are going to look back to this movie more favorably in the future.