Glass movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Glass

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 110 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: A-

IN A NUTSHELL: I’ve been a big fan of writer/director M. Night Shyamalan ever since I saw The Sixth Sense. I even stayed a fan when his movie duds bombed at the box office, believing that he had more talent in him yet to come. While some critics will add this final installment to his superhero trilogy to the list of failed movie attempts, I thought it was really good! I adore twists and Easter eggs in movies, which are two reasons why I love Shyamalan’s films. His filmmaking style seems like real art with so much thought put into every aspect.

To really enjoy Glass, you need to have seen Unbreakable and Split first.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Some written and verbal profanity.
Some Spanish without subtitles.
Violence, sometimes with blood
People die and are hurt.
Your kids will want to start reading comic books.

THEMES:

“You can’t possibly explain everything away.” – David Dunn (Bruce Willis)
Fantasy vs. reality
Villains vs. heroes
“Every day, the extraordinary can be explained away, and yet it is still true.” – Elijah/Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson)
Humans are capable of much more than we can imagine.
Light vs. Dark, Good vs. Evil
The Unbreakable human spirit

THINGS I LIKED:

I love that M. Night Shyamalan films himself in all of his movies. It’s like the Stan Lee cameos in every Marvel movie. In Glass, Bruce Willis’ character asks M. Night Shyamalan, “Hey, do I know you?” ha ha
James McAvoy is outstanding, as always, and this movie allows him to showcase his many talents. Samuel L. Jackson said that watching McAvoy transform into characters was truly amazing. He should be awarded “Best Actor” and might as well also earn “Best Actress”, “Best Child”, and “Best every other character” award too. The 23 Split personalities he brings to life are extremely entertaining. Hedwig is hilarious, etc. Patricia is delightful. I thought it was funny to see so many toothbrushes in his hospital room, one for each of his split personalities. Unfortunately, 3 of the 23 personalities were cut from the movie to drop viewing time down to a more reasonable length.
The talented cast includes James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Paulson, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Spencer Treat Clark. Samuel L. Jackson is actually 5 years older than Charlayne Woodard, who plays his mother.
I absolutely love how Shyamalan uses color as an effective instrument in his films. In this movie, the primary colors brighten or fade, depending on how much or little the main characters believe in comic book heroes and villains and in themselves. Notice that the “Villains” sign in the comic book store is purple, Mr. Glass’ color, while the “Heroes” sign is written in green, representing David Dunn’s color.
Fun fact: The hospital where our superheroes stayed was actually a former mental hospital in Pennsylvania.
Fun fact: The first 2 movies in the franchise (Unbreakable and were produced by different studios: Universal and Disney. In a rare moment, the two competing companies actually agreed to work together on this film. Sweet!
Have you noticed that in the superhero world, alliteration is often used in characters’ names (Peter Parker, Bruce Banner, etc)? Shyamalan honors this tradition by creating names for his characters in this series: David Dunn, Kevin Crumb, and even Casey Cooke.
Glass is basically catatonic for the first hour of the movie. He finally wakes up and has a tiny, wicked smile on his face when he first sees his nemesis, David Dunn.
Shyamalan gives a respectful nod to Marvel and DC Comics by using news headlines. A new high-rise building that is opening in the city is described as “a true marvel” and Washington “DC gives it respect.” Ha ha

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

You definitely need to have seen the first films in the series to truly understand what’s going on. Otherwise, you really won’t understand or care about the characters. There are some flashbacks from the movie Unbreakable and Split, some of it never-before-seen footage. You can read my movie review of Split here.
A lot of the scenes happen at night or in dark spaces, which is going to make it hard to see what’s going on if you watch this on your computer or a small TV later when comes out on streaming.
While it’s considered a superhero movie, there isn’t very much action and it’s a lot more slow-moving than what Marvel and DC Comics have given us in recent years.
Some critics and fans have said they were disappointed by the ending, but I thought it was perfect.

FUNNY LINES:
* “One of the hoards may need to walk us out of here, if that’s ok, partner.” – Elijah

INTERESTING LINES:

“Stay proud.” – Elijah’s mom (Charlayne Woodard)
“The power of true, loving physical affection is like something supernatural.” – Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson)
“There just can’t be gods amongst us. It’s not fair.” – Dr. Ellie Staple
“Belief in one’s self is contagious. We give each other permission to be who we are. We will never awaken otherwise.” – Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson)

OTHER MOVIES LIKE THIS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

Unbreakable