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Nineteen years ago, M. Night Shyamalan released Unbreakable, the follow-up to his career making thriller, The Sixth Sense—and it quickly became one of fans’ other favorites. Now, with Glass, Shyamalan connects the characters from Unbreakable with the characters from 2017’s Split to create his own cinematic superhero universe.
Glass catches up with Bruce Willis’s David Dunn, who now patrols the streets of Philadelphia as a caped vigilante. His latest case leads him to an abandoned factory, where Kevin Wendell Crumb and the rest of The Horde (James McAvoy) are holding four girls, waiting for the return of The Beast. When the police arrive on the scene, both men are taken to a nearby psychiatric hospital—the longtime home of Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson)—where they meet with Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson), who works with those whose delusions of grandeur make them believe they’re superheroes.
Everyone seems to be taking on superhero stories these days—from newcomers to Oscar winners. So now seems like the perfect time for Shyamalan to reunite his real-world supers for a thorny new thriller. Glass once again takes the idea of comic book superheroes and gives it a twist, playing with villainous Mr. Glass’s theory that comic books and real life are more connected than most people realize. It’s tense and suspenseful—and it offers plenty of action too. It makes for a gritty and more cerebral kind of superhero thriller—one that could be pretty remarkable if it all worked together well.
Unfortunately, though, joining the characters from Unbreakable and Split feels more like a gimmicky TV crossover episode than a real connection within a cinematic universe. They simply don’t fit together. Though Kevin Wendell Crumb was reportedly supposed to make an appearance in Unbreakable, his appearance now feels less like a natural part of the film and more like an effort to shoehorn a popular character from Shyamalan’s best movie in years into the sequel of a beloved but much, much older film to attract more viewers. And, in the end, the newer story eclipses the older one.
Of course, McAvoy is once again absolutely mesmerizing as the 24 different personalities that make up Kevin Wendell Crumb. From prim Patricia to playful young Hedwig to the monstrous Beast, he gives each character the performance he or she deserves. And perhaps that’s the reason why The Horde seems to get the spotlight here, while David and Mr. Glass generally remain in the shadows. Willis and Jackson are both likable action stars in their own way, yet they don’t get much of a chance to shine here. So while Glass makes for a tense and often thoughtful take on the same old superhero thriller, it isn’t really the Unbreakable sequel that fans have been waiting to see.
If you loved Split, you’ll enjoy another visit with The Horde—but the characters don’t seem to fit within the same universe as David Dunn and Mr. Glass. Glass is definitely an intriguing film—but it doesn’t live up to its potential.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
