Two Villains and a Hero

Back in 2000, ‘The Sixth Sense’ director M. Night Shyamalan reinvented the superhero genre with ‘Unbreakable,’ about a down-to-earth everyman played by Bruce Willis who discovered that he has superpowers and decided to do good.  In an era of tights-wearing superheroes from the Marvel and DC universes with all their glitz and glamor, it is refreshing to see that a superhero can be “one of us,” a true blue normal working-class American.  This was further borne out by the popular NBC TV series ‘Heroes,’ which ran for four seasons from 2006-2010.  Then in 2016 Shyamalan expanded his so-called ‘Eastrail 177’ series with the creepy kidnapping suspense thriller ‘Split,’ centering on the villain Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy), who “entertained” his kidnapped girls (including one played by Anya Taylor-Joy) with his many multiple personalities, including a really scary one with superhuman strength and wall-crawling ability called “The Beast.”  So when it became known that there is to be a third and final installment that serves as sequel to both ‘Unbreakable’ and ‘Split,’ I simply couldn’t wait.

 

'Glass,’ named after the arch-nemesis of David Dunn (Willis) played by Samuel L. Jackson because he, unlike Dunn, is anything but unbreakable, promises to bring the stories of these characters back full circle to a satisfying conclusion.  Tying them together is psychiatrist Doctor Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson), who “believes” that their superpower manifestations are nothing more than delusions due to their damaged psyches and seeks to “cure” them.  Also reprising her role as Casey Cooke is Anya Taylor-Joy, who wants to help Crumb despite being terrorized by his many personalities in ‘Split.’

 

It goes without saying that you should only watch ‘Glass’ after seeing ‘Unbreakable’ and ‘Split.’  Having said that, I found ‘Glass’ to be entertaining enough and thought it was a fitting conclusion to the trilogy.  But is there the trademark Shyamalan twist, you ask?  There is in a manner of speaking, just not as WTF?! shocking as those in some of his earlier movies, for better or worse.  And what’s up with the fact that water happens to be Dunn’s kryptonite?  I mean, is he an alien from ‘Signs’ or something?

Grade: B+