Director M. Night Shyamalan’s career started off on a high note with ‘The Sixth Sense” followed by “Unbreakable,” an early release in the current superhero phenomenon that gained critical acclaim. After “Unbreakable,” Shyamalan’s trail took a few dark turns (“Lady in the Water,” “The Happening,” “The Last Airbender”).

Despite these mistakes, Shyamalan appears to have turned the corner by going back to his roots and continuing the “Unbreakable” franchise with his smash hit “Split” in 2016. Every journey has a few bumps along the way, but the struggles are usually worth it for the final reward and the satisfaction of completing it.

This sentiment is only emphasized with the release of his latest project, “Glass.” While the film is a bit of a slow burn, Shyamalan concludes his journey of the superhero universe on a high note, ending this phase in his travels on a beautiful peak.

From start to finish, “Glass” is a well-shot film. Despite a majority of the film taking place in one location, Shyamalan makes this scenery interesting through well-lit shots, great angles and fantastic cinematography.

In “Glass,” security guard David Dunn (Bruce Willis) is using his powers to fight crime as The Overseer. His next target, Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy), is someone with multiple-personality disorder who has kidnapped four cheerleaders. Crumb has an extremely violent personality, referred to as “The Beast,” that has been known to murder many.

After fighting the beast, Dunn and Crumb are taken to a psychiatric ward, where Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson) attempts to treat Dunn and Crumb for believing they are superheroes. The two meet a familiar foe at the hospital: Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), who is suspiciously comatose.

The performances from its lead actors are strong across the board. Once again, McAvoy is fantastic at portraying every single personality inside Crumb, sometimes switching between personalities on a whim. Jackson is also superb in his return to this universe, with every glance and line delivered taking full advantage of this character while also displaying the tragedy of Crumb’s situation.

Paulson is also extremely committed to her role, convincing the characters — and even the viewers — that the main heroes and villains are just normal people.

Willis does a fine job as David Dunn, but it feels as though his character doesn’t receive enough focus. His arc is too similar to the one he went through in “Unbreakable,” and his parts in this film lack the same impact as those of Paulson, McAvoy and Jackson. While his opening scenes are fantastic and the few nods to James Newton Howard’s original “Unbreakable” score are nice, Dunn is a major weak link in this film. On top of this, most attempts at humor fall flat.

Considering that the entire “Unbreakable” series is a deconstruction about the purpose of heroes and villains, “Glass” is carried by its statement about the importance of superheroes. Without going into spoilers, the final action of the film puts everything into context by justifying the heroes’ journeys. It also adds a purpose for characters such as Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), a survivor of the beast from “Split,” and Joseph Dunn, David’s son who works with him in his security business.

I went into “Glass” with lower expectations than most, since I wasn’t impressed by “Split” or the marketing for this film. The film’s lack of action scenes didn’t help, either.

That being said, Shyamalan provided viewers with an appropriate and uplifting conclusion to this franchise. “Glass” kept me invested enough for the duration of the film, leaving me on a fantastic end note. Shyamalan finished this phase of his journey with a bang, and I cannot wait to see where he takes us next.

Published on January 21, 2019 at 8:18 pm