j* Movie Reviews 2019

Glass (2019)

It's complicated and definitely doesn't stand-alone; but it Shyamalans, and it Shyamalans hard.

It's super dense, some would say cluttered or messy with ideas and storylines. I can't even imagine trying to watch it without knowing Unbreakable or Split, because there are scenes I felt only make sense if you know those two films. Characters just show up continuing on their own story without real introduction or explanation.

And it is a great continuation of those stories; David Dunn (Bruce Willis) and his son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark) stands out. We watched Unbreakable (again) the night before so it was super impressive to see the wide-eyed kid back as an adult. You also get the original comic-book guy back from Unbreakable too - talk about a casting recall! And obviously Samuel L Jackson is back, because the film is called after his mastermindy Mr Glass.

In terms of Split you have Casey (Anja Taylor-Joy) back to reprise her victimly ascension with James McAvoy playing so many alters he proves yet again why we pay actors to do stuff.

So this is what it's like when worlds collide. It's well shot, but again, the story feels messy like it's constantly hopping between boxes, or running through a tyre-trail trying not to trip up. You have the three big names brought together for deprogramming and chaos does ensue. There is the constant underlying narration from Mr Glass around "if this were a comic book, this would be..." which seems to serve an interesting purpose.

I found myself really suckered in to the story. I didn't necessarily like where it went in parts, but I could feel myself being really held by the characters and needing to know what was coming. There are some delightfully cheerful jokes amidst the dark chaos.

So I rate it, but it belongs on a shelf as a set of three... even the outro credits have scenes from all three films.

J* gives it 4 stars.