• Wed. Oct 9th, 2024

Glass – M. Night Shyamalan Returns With a Superhero Drama!

Glass is directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film stars Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, and James McAvoy.

Three men are incarcerated in a mental health facility – a working-class man who believes he’s a superhero, an eccentric and deranged man suffering from a multiple personality disorder, and a man in a wheelchair with strange abilities but brittle bones which leaves him confined to a wheelchair. A therapist tries to convince them of their normality, as their respective family members and acquaintances also want to help and intervene. Is the incarcerated trio simply a case of people with mental disorders, or do they really have powers? And is the city safe from them?

Glass presents some interesting ideas, but it ultimately falls flat more often than it succeeds due to an overlong running time, too many side characters, subplots, story elements, and a sloppy narrative. That said, it does feature some solid casting and good performances from its leads.

The true standout in the film is the always entertaining James McAvoy, playing a man who suffers from a split personality disorder brought on events in his past. In mere seconds, he fluctuates between wildly different personalities, ranging from a destructive and superpowered “Beast,” to someone who sounds like he’s been taking speech lessons from Mike Tyson. He’s the definite highlight of a hit-and-miss film, equal parts fearful and hilarious.

The remainder of the cast fares well too. Bruce Willis is great as a widower father raising a son who sees his dad as a “superhero,” and Samuel L. Jackson plays the wheelchair-bound Elijah, who has a mysterious connection to the other men. When plot twists do reveal themselves later in the film (as is par for the course for an M. Night Shyamalan film), they thankfully flow well and don’t feel like contrived afterthoughts.

Unfortunately, other aspects of the film don’t fare as well. We jump back and forth between three wildly different men, none of whom ever gets the proper fleshing out or in-depth exploration they deserve. Throwing in characters from their own respective lives and pasts only further convolutes the story. It’s a movie which feels simultaneously far too long, yet also feels like a good deal of material may have been deleted from the film in post-production. The film would have worked better if it had been written more directly around McAvoy’s character, rather than shoe-horning in so many other elements.

Glass will make for a decent weekend rental when it hits home video formats, but wait until then. Don’t rush to the theater to see it.

Rating: Two stars out of four.

 

DISCLAIMER: All images in the review are the property of their respective copyright holders, including Universal, Blinding Edge, Blumhouse, Buena Vista, and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. For promotional use only. All rights reserved.

By Taylor T Carlson

Taylor T Carlson Assistant Editor/Senior Staff Writer Taylor T. Carlson was born August 17, 1984, and has called the Vegas Valley home his entire life. A die-hard fan of classic rock and metal music, Taylor has been writing album and concert reviews since he was 16 years old, and continues to do so, having done well over 1,000 reviews. He is also a fan of video gaming and cinema, and has reviewed a number of games and films as well, old and new alike. His thorough and honest (some would say brutally honest) reviewing style has won him the respect of hundreds of music fans and musicians alike, both local and abroad, and the ire of just as many others. Despite being one of the youngest attendees at classic hard rock/metal shows around Vegas, he is also one of the most knowledgeable, having gained the unofficial nickname of “The Eddie Trunk of Las Vegas.” In addition to reviews, Taylor has written and self-published three books on classic hard rock bands, and is a regular participant in rock and roll trivia contests. Taylor also holds a masters degree in special education from the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), and has appeared on the hit History Channel television series Pawn Stars. His dream is to be able to one day make a living from writing music books and reviews.

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