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When Glass was first announced, excitement was sky-high. After the groundbreaking Unbreakable and the surprise sequel Split, M. Night Shyamalan had built a superhero trilogy unlike anything else in Hollywood. Fans expected an epic conclusion, but what they got shattered expectations in all the wrong ways.
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Listen, I don't know about these other guys, but we are like a superhero, no
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When Glass was first announced, it was a miracle for devotees of director M. Night Shyamalan and superhero fandom at large
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Beginning with his secret superhero masterpiece Unbreakable and followed up by the super secret sequel Split
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it seemed like M. Night's so-called East Trail 177 trilogy could only conclude in brilliance
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Backed by a fully loaded returning cast, this trilogy caper was poised to establish the series as one of the best superhero franchises of all time
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But despite M. Night's resurgence as one of the true auteurs of American film, Glass shattered audiences' expectations in all the wrong ways
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This is where they would paint you with big eyes and bubbles of confusion above your head
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Named after the train disaster that started it all, the East Trail 177 trilogy contains what is widely considered a high-water mark for superhero films
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Released in the year 2000, Unbreakable tells the story of David Dunn, a down-on-his-luck dad in Philadelphia who has yet to discover his supernatural abilities
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Through a series of quiet interactions and a devastating train wreck, Willis' Dunn is slowly revealed to be something of a psychic Superman
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After meeting a physically tormented but mentally powerful comic collector known as Mr. Glass
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Dunn begins to understand what he is. Played by the immensely talented Sam Jackson in one of his most effective roles
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Mr. Glass explains the nature of heroes and villains to Dunn in a scene that can only be described as the ultimate comic nerd monologue
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I believe comics are our last link to an ancient way of passing on history
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Immune to sickness and disease, seemingly impenetrable flesh, boundless strength, and an ability to see the darkest crimes of those he touches
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Dunn reluctantly decides to use his powers to change the world around him
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Described by director M. Night Shyamalan as the first in a traditional three-part comic structure
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Unbreakable was intended to be a direct interpretation of the classic superhero origin story
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In a post-MCU world, origin films can feel like something of a chore to sit through
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but back at the turn of the millennium, these types of stories were rarely, if ever, seen on film
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With its grounded take on heroics, a deeply unsettling showdown with a killer, and an all-time performance by Bruce Willis
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Unbreakable easily overcame its moderate ticket sales and remains a favorite film for any fan of superheroes
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And with a mind final reveal that Mr Glass was the supervillain behind the East Trail 177 crash Unbreakable became a cinematic classic In a comic you know how you can tell who the arch going to be He the exact opposite of the hero
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Unlike his second feature, director M. Night Shyamalan's career can perhaps best be described
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as extremely divisive. From a stunning debut with The Sixth Sense and that core memory-unlocking
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scene and signs, to controversial cult classics like The Village and Lady in the Water
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M. Night's early films were often major cultural conversations, for better or worse
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But after directing one of the most abysmal adaptations in history, and the most embarrassing vanity project ever put to screen
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M. Night's reputation suffered some major setbacks. What was I supposed to do
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And when the director revived his career with the brutal and hilarious found-footage film
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The Visit, in 2015, audiences were more than willing to forgive. And by the time M. Night released another new film the following year
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fans of his earliest work were treated to a seriously shocking surprise
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On first glance, Split seemed like just another horror banger from one of the genre's best
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Starring James McAvoy as Kevin Wendell Crumb, a man suffering from psychotic Split personalities
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and Anya Taylor-Joy as one of the intended victims, Split was a deranged crowd-pleaser
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Set in the dungeon-like depths of the Philadelphia Zoo, Split seemed to follow the director's return to dark, understated PG-13 horror
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And with a breathtaking series of performances by McAvoy, the many personalities of Kevin created some of the scariest and most effective scenes in an already startling filmography
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Whether he's chewing the scenery as nine-year-old Hedwig, freaking everyone out as the cryptic Patricia
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or going full demon mode as the aptly named The Beast, McAvoy's turn as the murderous kidnapper is, quite simply, a revelation
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Hi! I'm sorry. Operating on a shoestring budget, M. Night flexed his directorial skills with as much style and skill as his earliest hits
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And when moviegoers learned that McAvoy had actually taken over the highly demanding role
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at the last minute due to disagreement with original star Joaquin Phoenix, Split felt all
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the more triumphant. Scary, funny, and deeply charming, Split is the epitome of an underdog
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horror film rising to the challenge. And after taking the box office by storm with a then-record
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breaking profit, the film's success was a well-earned victory lap for one of Hollywood's
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most misunderstood masters. But for those who had paid attention to M. Night Shyamalan's career up
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To that point Split last scene was more than just a cameo from one of Hollywood biggest stars Because when Bruce Willis briefly revived his role as David Dunn during the film final moments audiences realized they had actually just been treated to a surprise sequel
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Although both M. Night and Bruce Willis had long expressed their desire to continue the saga of
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David Dunn, Unbreakable's mild box office disappointment originally halted discussions. While it's hard to believe a box office take of over 200 million was anything but an achievement
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The chances of a revival in modern Hollywood were slim to none after over 15 years of silence
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And since most of M. Night's films are set and filmed in his hometown of Philadelphia
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no one really suspected that Split was part of a shared universe. By refusing to engage with spoilery trailers or tongue-in-cheek marketing campaigns
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no one had any reason to believe that Split could be anything more than a pulpy genre film
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While keeping one of the biggest action stars of all time out of commercials sounds like a serious gamble
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the director's history as the king of twist endings paid off once again
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Rather than allowing audiences to bring their unbreakable expectations to the theater
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M. Night was able to offer a surprise ending unlike any he had previously pulled off
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And this is perhaps where Glass went off the rails. Because unlike the secretive superhero storyline
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of Unbreakable, and without the supervillain sequel surprise of Split, Glass was the first film in the trilogy
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to have fully explained itself upon arrival. In fact, the very nature of Glass goes against what we love most about M. Night's films
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the unknown. Because when you really dig into the entire filmography of its director
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Glass might just be the least surprising entry of M. Night Shyamalan's career
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Part of what makes Glass so disappointing is that, for a while, it makes you believe in miracles
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Opening with one of the most entertaining catch-up sequences in recent memory, M. Night puts the franchise film narrative structure into overdrive
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and gives the audience absolutely everything they need to know. After hearing McAvoy roll through a litany of identities
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the dreaded Patricia makes her entrance to a group of recently detained cheerleaders
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Now, who'd like a PB and J sandwich? You do. As we immediately cut to the opening credits
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David Dunn stalks a group of criminal deviants through the city he now protects
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Dispatching them like the mortals they are, Dunn then unwinds back into the classic movie dad that Bruce Willis never fails to deliver
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Unlike so many bloated and needlessly complex superhero entries, Glass gets straight to the
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point with cleverness and grace. Unfortunately, those goosebumps quickly fade when audiences
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found out what exactly this trilogy conclusion was actually about Because when Dunn and Crumb are swiftly apprehended after an admittedly cool fight scene Glass reverts back to the sort of small novelties that M Night so often relies on Confined and restrained by a shadowy
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medical organization, the grounded superhero and villain find themselves shacked up with none other
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than Mr. Glass. Now forced to endure psychiatric evaluations, the three supers face clinical
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imprisonment in their own way. While this setting and situation could be thrilling for a small
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portion of the film's story, this detainment turns out to be the entire conceit. Yes, just like the
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stuck-at-the-grandparents'-house plot of The Visit and the kidnapper's dungeon from Split, Glass turns out to be just another glorified escape film from a director once known for
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consistently defying expectations. While it is interesting to see each character face their
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supernatural abilities, and there is some narrative wealth to be mined from ensnaring
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heroes and villains with their respective weaknesses, it all feels like it should have
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been a short detour rather than an entire film. By teasing the audience with its Dark Knight David
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Dunn intro, this narrative revelation was disappointing to say the least. When Dunn
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Crumb, and Mr. Glass finally break out of their cells for the expected showdown
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the entire climax just feels off. While McAvoy still packs a wallop as the Beast
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and Sam Jackson does his standard sinister monologuing, the fight scene never reaches
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the heights it should. Even as M. Night tries to drop a few bombs revealing Crumb's connection to
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the East Trail train tragedy, one gets the sense that there just wasn't much left for the director
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to say. And since David Dunn is perhaps the last great performance by one of our most legendary
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actors, it is all the more difficult to accept the way Glass chooses to end his story. Bland
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boxed in by design, and without the emotional beats of his predecessors, Glass ultimately feels
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exactly like the kind of superhero film it once defied. Perhaps with an overblown budget and a
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more free-range setting, seeing all these returning characters and lore would feel like the major
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event it wants to be. Instead, Glass comes off like a slight entry from a comic franchise that
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would otherwise sadly be sent straight to streaming. Though most movies in his filmography
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are polarizing, M. Night's work often sits with us for years. From making us afraid to check under
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our bed, to having serious questions about this guy's workout routine, M. Night is nothing if not
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compelling. Even the cursed Avatar adaptation had the audacity to do this
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We are now the gods. No! And if you walked away from Unbreakable or Split feeling uneasy
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at least M. Night made you feel something. Because when it comes to glass, nothing comes away clear
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Take consolation in the fact that you were right about your theory