M. Night Shyamalan surprised everyone with his psychological horror film SPLIT, when they realized at the end (spoilers if you haven’t seen it yet, and by now you really should have) that it was actually a sort of sequel to UNBREAKABLE. If you don’t remember UNBREAKABLE that well, or if you somehow missed it, that story follows a man named David Dunn (Bruce Willis) who miraculously survives a horrific train crash, only to discover he has superhuman powers. Dunn meets a mysterious man named Elijah Price aka “Mr. Glass” (Samuel L. Jackson), who likens his discovery to that of comic book legends, and it’s eventually revealed that Glass is actually the one who caused the train crash in an effort to find if someone like Dunn could actually exist… making Glass the comic book-like villain. In SPLIT, James McAvoy plays Kevin, a man with multiple personalities who kidnaps young girls including Casey Cooke (Anya Taylor-Joy). As Casey fights to escape, she tries to manipulate the various personas within her captor’s mind, but discovers he may be hiding one particular identity that is beast-like and rather horrifying. In GLASS, the three men from these stories are united under the observation of Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson), who determines they believe they have superpowers even when they actually don’t… oh Ellie, what on earth are you doing and why? Casey is back too, and we even see the return of David Dunn’s son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark), along with Elijah’s mother (played by Charlayne Woodard).

The story opens showing Kevin in full multiple personality mode, hiding in an abandoned factory, holding four high school cheerleaders hostage, and warning them that The Beast is coming. David Dunn is walking the streets, getting updates from Joseph in an earpiece about crime in the area. And lo and behold, David brushes by Kevin, who is strolling down the sidewalk in his childlike personality, unaware of who or what David is. We soon see that David has a security store where he sells home protection, and has been working on the side as a hero in the streets for those in need of help. Joseph warns him to ease up, saying the cops are looking for him aggressively. Eventually David finds the factory when Kevin’s hostages are being held, encounters The Beast, and a huge fight ensues. But the surprise ending to this battle is both men being captured, and they wake up in a psychiatric hospital under the care of Dr. Ellie Staple, who hopes to convince them that their “abilities” are all in their heads. She’s also treating Elijah Price, who appears catatonic and completely disconnected from reality. Ellie attempts to reason with the men, and some of her theories actually seem rather plausible. She uses a strobing light to control Kevin’s personas and keep The Beast away, and a room filled with powerful water nozzles to keep David from trying to fight (since water appears to be his Kryptonite). These three in the same area feels like a powder keg just waiting to go off, and we all know it eventually will.

Being a fan of both SPLIT and UNBREAKABLE, I was genuinely looking forward to seeing what M. Night Shyamalan could do when combining these two worlds. The end result isn’t bad, but it’s definitely not what I expected. The first half of the film is rather interesting and engaging, sort of slow build with suspenseful moments that hold our attention while giving us a creeping sense of dread. The primary question is why Ellie is doing what she’s doing… what is her motivation? Why does she feel her work is necessary? Who is financing her work in the first place? Well, that’s all kind of answered later in the film, but it’s a pretty far-fetched explanation and a little hard to buy into. And yes, it sort of counts as one of those “twist” moments that Shyamalan is quite famous for, but there’s a few more twists around it that are bigger and better, and feel much more rewarding. There’s a moment where we learn one particular character’s background and origin, and it’s brilliant in its execution. Another thing used to great effect in the film is some select footage originally shot for UNBREAKABLE that was never used, and it’s seamlessly integrated in the new movie as flashbacks, working rather well as a compliment to the new narrative. All of this works well enough until the second half of the film, where things get a little hectic and silly. Even the final moments of the film leave you wanting a bit, like somewhere in there was a much better ending, but instead we just get this. Again, it’s not bad, it’s just not what I was hoping for.

Then there’s the cast, which is hit and miss for a variety of reasons. Samuel L. Jackson and James McAvoy are really great, each having moments of greatness that really shine and each making the most of their screen time. McAvoy is incredible handling the multiple personalities of his character, taking things a level that’s even above what he did in SPLIT, and in some scenes finally finding real humanity in his character. Jackson sort of became a full on super villain at the end of UNBREAKABLE, and here he’s in full super villain mode and becoming a puppet master of epic proportions. Even his own mother doesn’t know what he’s doing or why, only that he’s brilliant and very dangerous. Anya Taylor-Joy is a welcome return after playing such a great character in SPLIT, and her character actually develops even further here, and I was very happy to see Spencer Treat Clark back as well and him getting more to do as well. Even Sarah Paulson is giving 110% in her role, a somewhat frustrating character but one that is in her own way powerful and intimidating, if only because she’s initially the only one in total control. But then there’s Bruce Willis… and dammit if Bruce doesn’t just sleepwalk through this film, which is a shame. Willis has been doing this a lot in recent years, phoning in his roles and looking put out just for being on screen. In fact there’s more than a few scenes in GLASS where it’s pretty obvious the man in the slicker with his hood up is absolutely NOT Bruce. I’m wondering if they only had him for a few days, and just used a stand in or stunt double for all the other scenes. This is particularly depressing since Willis was so terrific in UNBREAKABLE, and here he’s incredible forgettable and just kind of there.

There are great scenes in GLASS, some that feel like Shyamalan’s best to date, but they’re mixed into a sometimes clumsy and messy narrative that is familiar and yet strange, even for fans of the previous films. I wanted so badly to love this film, but I walked out with a bit of a shrug and some disappointment. It is by no means Night’s worst film, but it’s far from his best, and it falls short of the quality exhibited in either SPLIT and UNBREAKABLE. As a sequel and bridging film, it’s effective enough to merit watching, but probably won’t leave you wanting to have many repeat viewings. I remember watching UNBREAKABLE and thinking “That’s the best comic book movie ever made that’s not based on a comic book”, where GLASS left me thinking “This feels like any comic book out there, it just happens to have character in it I really like.” But hey, even in the real world of comics, not every issue can be amazing.

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