Glass (2018) [Blu-ray]
Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline: Real villains are among us. Real heroes are within us.

From Unbreakable, Bruce Willis returns as David Dunn as does Samuel L. Jackson as Elijah Price, known also by his pseudonym Mr. Glass. Joining from Split are James McAvoy, reprising his role as Kevin Wendell Crumb and the multiple identities who reside within, and Anya Taylor-Joy as Casey Cooke, the only captive to survive an encounter with The Beast. Following the conclusion of Split, Glass finds Dunn pursuing Crumb's superhuman figure of The Beast in a series of escalating encounters, while the shadowy presence of Price emerges as an orchestrator who holds secrets critical to both men.

Storyline: After pursuing Kevin Wendell Crumb and the multiple identities that reside within. David Dunn finds himself locked in a mental hospital alongside his archenemy, Elijah Price and must contend with a psychiatrist who is out to prove the trio do not actually possess superhuman abilities Written by vsuperkuns

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, April 6, 2019 While Marvel and DC are battling it out for box office returns, littering the movie landscape with, now, nearly countless Superhero films that all basically play to the same beat in increasingly grim and trope-filled narratives with an ever-expanding character count of decades-old names and faces, M. Night Shyamalan has taken his time to craft his own, much more grounded, and in many ways more engaging and intimate "Superhero" and "Super villain" stories. Unbreakable introduced audiences to David Dunn (Bruce Willis) and Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson), physical opposites that were seemingly born for conflict with one another. Shyamalan's Split revealed that film's antagonist, a man suffering from a unique twist on multiple personality disorder known as "The Horde" (James McAvoy), to be part of the Dunn/Glass world. The director brings their stories together in Glass, a film that is far less concerned with action and instead built on characterization and both introducing and dissecting the worlds of comic book heroes and villains in a believably approachable and innately human way. Though it is not his best film, Glass is a fitting continuation of the saga with an end that both closes one chapter of the story and opens a world of possibilities for future films.

"The Horde" -- the violent abductor with severe multiple personality disorder who targets teenage girls -- has struck again. He has kidnapped four cheerleaders, holding them in an abandoned Philadelphia warehouse. David Dunn, the "unbreakable" man known to the public as the mysterious hooded hero "Overseer," tracks him and the girls down, rescues the victims, and finds himself in a violent confrontation with The Horde's most dangerous form, the vascular, muscular creature known as "The Beast." The two of them are eventually taken into custody and hospitalized under the care of Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson) who believes the men are suffering from an ailment that leads them to believe they are something they are not. Also in her care is Dunn's arch nemesis, the fragile but extraordinarily intelligent Mr. Glass. Staple is hellbent on proving her theory correct and is prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to ensure none of the men leave the hospital the same.

Glass is not a film focused on action but rather one focused on character depth. It's not a film about maneuverings but rather about manipulations. Shyamalan's script thrives on opening characters, revealing truths, with slowly developing and gradually revealed turns and twists. The story centers on the three main characters -- Dunn, Glass, and The Horde -- but it is in many ways the story of the supposed support players, prominently Dr. Staple but also Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark), Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), and Mrs. Price (Charlayne Woodard). Shyamalan does not make it their movie through sleight-of-hand but it's clear by the time the second act begins, with the collected characters under Staple's care at the hospital, that the story is not going to evolve down a more traditional genre avenue. The film does build towards a climactic showdown with the three of them in the middle of it, but even within it the physical confrontations are less dynamic and dramatic than the character details and reveals. Shyamalan has built the movie with purpose that is revealed in the end, which may not be a traditional "twist" as the term applies to the filmmaker's movies. It's instead a gradual reveal through and beyond the film's unexpected climax that rewrites the characters, their purpose, and the state of the world Shyamalan has constructed around them.

Shyamalan builds and executes the film with a slow but sure hand. There are lengthy stretches featuring Dunn and Glass doing little more than sitting still while Staple speaks to them, diagnoses them, and lays out a "treatment" plan for their mental blocks and fantasies, as she believes them to be. There's more interaction with The Horde, unavoidable with the multiple personalities surfacing in response to any given situation or stimulus, but that allows the series' anchors -- Dunn and Glass -- to reveal their place and purpose in the film with added mystery as they are slowly folded into a much larger narrative. Staple is the film's most interesting character. As the film explores the parallels and demarcations between fictional and "real" heroes and villains and various comic book tropes are introduced and often slyly rather an overtly folded into the story, it becomes clear that there's something to Staple's work beyond "treating" the men's supposed aliments. Shaymalan builds the film, much as he always does, with the greater purposes and truths masked and slowly peeled away at opportune times. Staple indeed becomes something more than just a stand-in, and a second watch proves much more rewarding than the first, allowing viewers to piece together the story as Shyamalan introduces hints rather than wait for the reveals, to understand where the characters and the story are going with the foresight to better appreciate the artistry in the writer/director's purposes for it all.

Glass both brings Shyamalan's Unbreakable trilogy to a close while also igniting a new spark with an opportunity for the filmmaker to play into a whole new wide world, should he so choose. This film builds and plays internally much more than it does externally, and it's a welcome escape from so many of the more superficial (yet often still very good) superhero movies which are so dominant across today's cinema. Shyamalan certainly seems to be back in a groove. He's too talented to miss too often, and here's hoping there much more good Shyamalan in store in the future. Universal's Blu-ray release of Glass delivers reference quality video and audio as well as a voluminous collection of short extras. Highly recommended.

[CSW] -3.8- I am not a big comic book fan nor am I a fan of most of the endings of M. Night Shyamalan movies (with an exception or two). This movie was made at one tenth the cost of a traditional comic book based movie. Even without the big budget CGI this was storytelling at its best. I liked the premise, the telling, the characters, the cinematography, and epically the ending. Although the "new broom sweeps clean" comic book movies seem to be trending now, this one was a nice beginning in the ending. The introduction of a new unique group was a nice touch that might have future potential. All in all, M. Night Shyamalan's second best movie. It is worth giving it a shot.
[V5.0-A5.0] MPEG-4 AVC - D-Box really enhanced this movie.


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