Glass

This shouldn't have worked. The third film in a series that didn't exist until the final moments of the second film. A film starring Bruce Willis, an actor who has all but given up on his art form in the last decade. A film that keeps it's 3 leads apart for at least 50% of the running time in a sequence of scenes that verge on interminable. But it does and it's all down to an absolutely brilliant performance from James McAvoy. Uncaged, childlike, terrifying, the film comes alive when he's onscreen.

Kevin Crumb, the antagonist of 2016's Split, is still abducting women and terrorising them with each of his 24 personalities (collectively called the horde) including the fun loving Hedwig, the straight laced Patricia, the angry Dennis and the rage filled and murderous Beast. David Dunn, the protagonist of 2000's Unbreakable is a.....well unbreakable man on the hunt for him. When Kevin & David eventually collide they end up in a psychiatric hospital containing Elijah Price aka Mr Glass, an old foe of David, the man who changed his life.

The first superhero film of 2019........wait....no, come back. The first superhero film of 2019 is as far removed from the Marvel/DC films as you could imagine. There's no city destroying climax, very little CGI and definitely no costumes unless you count David's raincoat or Mr Glass's snazzy suit. Yet the characters within are very much super. Super strength, super intelligence, superbad. When they clash they clash big but director M. Night Shyamalan keeps the scope small. One huge confrontation is almost intimate the way it's shot, playing off close ups of our characters faces instead of the destruction being wrought around them. It's a smart choice that keeps the action grounded no matter how silly it gets. It needs that silliness because the middle of the film is so slow and drawn out that a boring finish would have been unforgivable. A fun beginning, a nuts ending and one superb performance saves the day.

Kevin is the driving force behind the film. He crackles off the screen. McAvoy is brilliantly ott in the part. A lot of people will find him far too hammy to enjoy but I love the fact that he just fucking goes for it. The one-take moments that see him flipping between multiple personalities are amazing. Voices change, accents change, body language changes and in a couple of genuinely upsettling moments his body seems to physically change before us. It's amazing what just standing up straight can do, far more effective than any special effect. There's no mistaking what personality he is at any given time and it's just so enjoyable to watch, at times so much so that you'll forget he's a kidnapper, murderer and occasional cannibal. He's so good that Samuel L. Jackson and especially Bruce Willis come off looking very bland beside him.

Willis needs to retire. He doesn't care anymore and it's written across his face plainly. You'd think returning to one of his biggest hits would pep him up and make him give a shit but he's so uninterested here that it's kind of hard to watch. His David Dunn in Unbreakable wasn't exactly Party Guy but here it's like every ounce of personality has leaked out of him since. Samuel L. Jackson's Mr Glass doesn't fair much better. Zonked out so much for half the film that when he finally does come to life you'll find it hard to give a damn. None of SLJ's natural charisma is on display and he's far too dull to be the title character. It's never a good sign when 2/3's of the leading roles are this bland but it just shows how good McAvoy is. Sarah Paulson, Anya Taylor-Joy & Spencer Treat Clark fill out the cast but none of them stand out. Paulson, usually a highlight in any cast gets nothing to stick her teeth into. 

Go see this for James McAvoy. His Kevin/The Horde is a thoroughly terrifying creation. The kind of bad guy other Superhero films could only dream of. Glass isn't Shyamalan's best film but it's not his worst either. He's definitely an interesting director whatever he does. Now if only he'd stop giving himself cameo roles.