Disney's Glass [DVD] [2019]

Glass doesn’t not make a good stand alone film at all, but it certainly fulfils its role as the third film in the Unbreakable trilogy with aplomb. The reason I say this is that the promised ending – the big face off in a huge new tower block – is used as a diversion by Glass (Samuel L Jackson) to cover his true intentions – revealing the existence of superheroes/villains to the world via YouTube (I know come on, it’s a Shyamalan film!). The films go against the rub of the studio cash cow Marvel and DC films and I like that about them. So instead of special-effects laden CG-fest smash up in a huge office block we get a scrap in a car park. And who doesn’t like a scrap in a car park (the first rule of Fight Club is…)?It was great to see Spencer Treat Clark reprise his role as the unbreakable Dunn’s (Bruce Willis') son – now all grown up (it’s been nineteen years!) and playing the role of computer back-up to the hero. Any Taylor-Joy, is back from Split as Casey – who seems to be the only one who really understands and wants to help Crumb, and Charlayne Woodard is back as Mr Glass’s mom from Unbreakable. These actors plus the three principles are fine. Even the ‘I’ve turned over a new leaf’ Shyamalan cameo reprise isn’t so bad. However, as usual the rest of the actors are pretty dreadful and I’m sorry to say that includes American Horror Story‘s Sarah Paulson. Again maybe their hearts weren’t into delivering the lines and it shows in the performance.The film’s a bit of a hot mess but it’s an entertaining mess and I like the fact that Mr Glass isn’t as much of an out and out bad guy in this film. I suppose most of McAvoy’s characters aren’t either – we get to see a lot more of them albeit briefly in this film. I like the ambiguity of it especially when it’s juxtaposed with the very monolithic Batman-esque attitude of Dunn’s. Also I love the colour palettes used for all the main characters which evokes the idea of comic book inking.I’m not sure about the cloverleaf ‘kill the specials!’ secret organisation, but if you’re exploring tropes then fair enough I guess. It worked for Jumper and the X-Men film franchise so why not glass? As usual Shyamalan wants to provide a twist and he couldn’t exactly wheel out another character from another film. It certainly confused the hell out of me for a bit. I was like ‘Err why is that man drowning Bruce in a big puddle?’. And moreover whats’ Shyamalan’s problem with water?All in all a very satisfying trilogy for fans of the original film.

I enjoyed this film so it was definitely worth the purchase.

Recommend you watch the first 2 before this one

I watched Split 1st and thought it was brilliant so found this disappointing.

The third and final part of M.Night Shyamalan's weird yet wonderful comic-book style tale which he both wrote and indeed directed, the film bringing back the super-intelligent manipulator wheelchair-bound Elijah Price ( Mr Glass) (Samuel L Jackson) the seemingly unbreakable David Dunn (Bruce Willis) who now has become a Super-Hero/ vigilante ''The Overseer'' and the multi-personality (multiple personality disorder) Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McEvoy) whose characters include Super-Hero and frightening 'The Beast'After the early incident which sees The Overseer release The Beast's current captives bringing the two together in battle which is interrupted by the local police seeing them both end up in Raven Hill Memorial Mental Institution, where they will be investigated by Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson)Also, an inmate seen as mentally insane at the institute Mr Glass, who will use his super-intelligence to orchestrate what follows bringing all three together one more time. The film also features David's son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark) who assists his super-hero father, Casey Cooke (Anya Taylor-Joy) the only person that The Beast had ever freed, who has developed a bond with the dysfunctional Kevin and Elijah's mother played byCharlayne Woodard.I myself enjoyed this the third in the trilogy of 'Unbreakable' 'Split' and 'Glass' the most, it contains many a memorable moments and performances, none more so than the outstanding performance from James McEvoy who in truth did steal the show.Give it a go (can also be seen on Prime)

A LITTLE HISTORY + CONTEXT........................................................First came UNBREAKABLE, introducing us to the superhero character David Dunn played by Bruce Willis. DD seems an unlikely superhero because he looks just like an ordinary man, but as the title points out, DD is indeed unbreakable. As a human, he has his flaws but is generally a good father to his young son. This film is a gem, one to be enjoyed again and again.I was so excited that the writer and director, M. Night Shyamalan, then brought us SPLIT, some sixteen years later. The (somewhat troubled!) protagonist, Kevin Wendell Crumb, superbly acted by James McAvoy, introduces us to *several* characters 'all for the price of one'! For KWC has split personalities due to the horrific child abuse he endured (don't worry, this is only lightly touched on). There are many personalities, a few darker than others, and then there's The Beast. I love this film, rate it very highly due to the story, the action, and James McAvoy's brilliant acting and ability to switch between the different personalities. Great acting all round, has to be said. And, as in all good films, there are brief moments of humour (thank you Hedwig and Miss Patricia). In summary: Tense, exciting, edge-of-the-seat fun.GLASS............A couple of years later - thankfully we didn't have to wait too long this time! - comes along GLASS. The main character this time is of course, Mr Glass, played by Samuel L Jackson. We were first introduced to Glass in the first film, Unbreakable. He is the supervillain to David Dunn's superhero, his speciality being his quick and brilliant mind.Since birth he has struggled with the life-changing defect of having highly fragile bones - bones that shatter like glass. He is the very opposite of David Dunn's character, he IS *breakable*. Thus, feeling frustrated and ostracised because physical activity is denied him, the young Elijah Price (or Glass) turns to a quieter pastime for his sharp mind. And as an avid comic collector, he soon believes in the reality of superbeings or superhumans living amongst us.In GLASS we see the coming together of all three superhumans. The official film trailers show us their capture and imprisonment in a psychiatric setting. We wonder if and how they'll escape. What new escapades are in store?The movie begins well - even at the point of the creative credits - and soon, two of the main characters literally run into one another. All good and exciting. We see the dilemma of other characters and embrace ourselves for some of the action. And then, some few minutes into the film, the story abruptly changes direction and the pace goes from exciting to crawl. This middle part of the story is too slow paced, some of the scenes unnecessary or overly long, some dialogue puffed out when we've already got the idea of what the head psychiatrist believes / the reason given why they're there against their will. The viewer does get the feeling that something is 'off' - why are two of the main characters, seemingly innocent, treated in this heavy-handed manner? To what end? What about their human rights? Half way through the film, the pace begins to pick up momentum. Now it's getting interesting again. Later, we're promised some heavy duty action. But the film turns into another direction and my fiance and I were left disappointed. There is a shock and then the final twist.What I do like: How lovely we see David Dunn's son, Joseph, again - and the same actor (Spencer Treat Clark) who originally played him, all grown up. What a treat for McAvoy fans when we see the reemergence of previous personalities and a couple of new ones. There's a great scene between DD and The Beast.I reviewed the DVD version, there are NO extras.In summary: I'd say watch GLASS if you want to complete the trilogy, but if not that into it, I'd leave it.