Glass is going to be a divisive movie. Heck, it already is a divisive movie. At last check it was at a 36%/78% critic/audience split on Rotten Tomatoes. Yes, we all know Rotten Tomatoes is far from perfect, but still, that’s an interesting disparity. In any event, count me in on the critics’ side for this one.
Glass is the culmination of director M. Knight Shyamalan’s “Eastrail 177 Trilogy.” It brings together the characters from Unbreakable (Bruce Willis’ David Dunn and Samuel L. Jackson’s Elijah Price) and Split (James McAvoy’s Kevin Wendell Crumb/The Horde). The three are captured and brought together to a mental institution where they will be patients of Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson), who claims to specialize in working with those who believe they possess super powers. She believes – and in turn attempts to convince all three – that they do not possess any supernatural abilities; that they are, in fact, regular people who only have heightened senses or abilities.
And how does she do this? By talking, of course. And talking some more. And then, you guessed it, talking even more. It’s here that Glass really lost me. It takes an interesting enough concept and breaks it down into a couple therapy sessions. There are plenty of examples of movies getting away with being dialogue-driven projects. But in those cases it’s often engaging, witty banter that keeps the audience engaged. Here, it’s Dr. Staple’s mostly-monotone monologues expositing all over the place. I’m not exaggerating when I say it was a struggle for me just to stay awake. If McAvoy hadn’t been so darn entertaining, I likely would have fallen asleep.
Boring, for my money, is the worst thing a movie can be. And Glass had no business being boring. Look at the cast again for crying out loud. With the exception of McAvoy – he was far and away the best part of the movie, and it wasn’t even close – everyone else is wasted. Jackson spends the majority of the movie in a vegetable-like state. Willis spends a good chunk of the movie just kind of hanging out at the institution. I already touched on Paulson and how one-note she was. Anya Taylor-Joy reprises her role as Casey from Split and she amounts to nothing more than a cheap plot device.
With all that said, there are parts to like. Again, McAvoy is simply a joy to watch. There’s no chance he even sniffs an Oscar nomination, but make no mistake, this was an award-worthy performance. I won’t say too much about the other good parts, as I don’t want to give away the only enjoyable aspects. But the beginning is good enough and sets up what could have been a better movie. And the different therapy sessions and other discussions touch on interesting points, but they always stop short. On the technical side, it did have one of the cooler color schemes I’ve seen in a while.
In the end, even with all the negatives I’ve said, if you at least mildly enjoyed Unbreakable and Split, Glass is probably worth seeing. It’s certainly a vastly different take on the traditional superhero movie, which could be a big draw to some viewers. As noted at the beginning, Glass is going to be divisive. But the bland script and gross misuse of talent make Glass a firm “missed expectations” movie for me.
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