Movie review: M. Night Shyamalan's Glass is brimming with ideas
M. Night Shyamalan-baiting and hating has become a pastime with film critics over the years.
Many felt he started losing the plot with 2006's Lady In The Water, and his career went south after The Last Airbender (2010) and After Earth (2013), relegating him to a punchline.
But in 2016, the prolific film-maker deservedly became the classic comeback kid, returning to his darker impulses with the critical and commercial hit Split, the low-budget James McAvoy-headlined psychological horror thriller that ended up earning over US$278 million (S$376m).
Shyamalan continues his return to form with Glass, the sequel that was stealthily teased at the end of Split with the appearance of Bruce Willis' David Dunn, the unbreakable reluctant hero with superhuman strength, from 2000's Unbreakable.
Both narratives come together deliciously in this climax to the trilogy, with David's nemesis - brittle-boned criminal mastermind Elijah Price aka Mr Glass (Samuel L. Jackson) - connecting the trio, who all end up facing off.
To fully enjoy the meta storytelling that Glass has to offer, brushing up on the previous movies is obligatory.
It is an ambitious crossover project - mostly serious and creepy, sometimes pulpy and silly.
Buoyed by Split's success, Shyamalan's distinctive voice and ideas about superheroes, supervillains and comic books come across loud and clear.
In a cinematic landscape saturated by Marvel and DC movies that have influenced the way we respond to the genre's non-stop offerings, it's refreshing to have a down-to-earth yet philosophical and non-derivative product that has something substantial to add to the dialogue, without resorting to multi-million-dollar CGI-heavy showdowns or putting its protagonists in costumes and masks.
As with typical Shyamalan mysteries, the less said about the plot, the better. But for diehard fans hoping for a signature twist (or two), the payoff is pretty sweet.
It's also a treat to revisit David and Elijah some 18 years later, as more layers are revealed about their past abuse and childhood trauma.
But no one can upstage McAvoy, who chews scenery once again as he toggles even more furiously than before between his multiple identities (known as the Horde) as if he's competing in the Acting Olympics.
Shyamalan's latest is a fragile endeavour that's bound to show cracks, but I'd like to see Glass as half full.
RATING: 4 stars
MOVIE Glass
STARRING James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Paulson
WRITER-DIRECTOR M. Night Shyamalan
THE SKINNY Following the conclusion of 2016’s Split, David Dunn (Willis) pursues Kevin Crumb’s (McAvoy) superhuman figure of The Beast in a series of escalating encounters, while the shadowy presence of Elijah Price (Jackson) emerges as an orchestrator who holds secrets critical to both men.
RATING PG13
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now