While Unbreakable did not really leave a lasting impression on me, it was very different with (what at the end of the film turned out to be) the follow-up Split. A film that I was a huge fan of and I could not wait to see the third part in this trilogy, Glass, in which the characters from the first two films come together.
David Dunn (Bruce Willis) has decided to track down the “The Horde” (James McAvoy) after the events in Split. Not evertyhing goes according to plan and Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson) brings them together with Mr.Glass to investigate their superpowers.
As the conclusion of a trilogy, you would expect spectacle, but director Shyamalan (who also wrote the story) decides to focus on whether superheroes really exist. This results in a very large part of the film in which there is actually little happening and it is mainly the acting of McAvoy, which still provides some entertainment. What is also striking is that the dialogues are used too often for exposition and therefore feel unnatural. The same is true for the presence of certain characters. There are a couple of moments where they coincidentally all appear simultaneously, just in time for the climax (or better anti-climax), purely so that there is some more drama. The message that everyone could have superpowers is clear (but much better done in Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse) and if my super power is evaluating movies, then I use it right away to judge that this is a very disappointing, bad movie.
[score4]
Great review, and can’t argue with your thoughts at all. James McAvoy’s performance made me forgive a lot, but it’s by far a great movie.
Yeah, it just felt like the story has been on the shelf too long. Superhero movies are mainstream now, so all the explaining of things from comic books felt weird.
I left the theater conflicted but have grown to appreciate it more as I’ve gotten a better grasp of what MNS was going for. Definitely could have been better but I’m anxious to see it again.
I’m sure I’ll never watch it again, although I have heard some podcasts explaining his ideas. Still I thought there were too many things which annoyed me.