By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
After director and screenwriter
M. Night Shyamalan?s superb 2016 movie, ?Split,? I?ve been eagerly waiting for
?Glass? which is the sequel to ?Split? and ?Unbreakable.?
Shyamalan has taken a bold, dark and intriguing path with ?Glass.? In interviews he refers to the film as a suspense-thriller-meets-comic-book movie.?
Yet, despite its star power of Samuel L. Jackson who is terrific even when he?s not swearing up a storm, and an ever-scowling Bruce Willis, ?Glass? has its moments for sure, but overall it pales in comparison to ?Split.?
Still, it?s hard to take your eyes off the screen especially when James McAvoy?s myriad personalities take hold. One minute he?s Kevin Wendall Crumb/The Horde, then Jade (a foul-mouthed teenage girl), Orwell (an introverted man), Barry (his original dominant personality), Patricia, Hedwig (a nine-year-old boy) and then Dennis (a perverted man with OCD).
This is some mighty fine acting by McAvoy too. As great as he was in ?Split,? he raises the bar even higher here.
Kevin (McAvoy) is at war with all those voices in his head. He kidnapped four cheerleaders and chained them up in a dilapidated warehouse in Philadelphia. The police are combing the area but are having little luck with their leads.
Meanwhile, David Dunn (Willis), who is now known as ?The Overseer? is putting his superhuman powers to good use and trying to help those in need. David has a sixth sense that can detect the evil in people when he casually walks by and brushes up against them. David works with his grown son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark, TV?s ?Criminal Minds? and ?Animal Kingdom?) and together they track Kevin/The Beast (McAvoy).
David finds Kevin and rescues the scared cheerleaders from the warehouse, but he can?t get away before Kevin unleashes ?The Beast.?
When police arrived, they arrest both guys and take them to a mental institution which is run by Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson, TV?s ?American Crime Story,? ?Bird Box? and ?American Horror Story?).
Something doesn?t seem quite right with this woman.
Dr. Staple?s role at the institution is to convince patients who think they have superpowers that they really don?t and basically that they?re just crazy.
But are they really? Or is Dr. Staple pulling a fast one on these patients?
David has bigger concerns. He soon discovers the place is also home to his arch enemy, Elijah Price aka, ?Mr. Glass? (Jackson). He?s the genius/mastermind/mass murderer and comic book theorist who has a genetic disease which causes his bones to be brittle. Elijah?s mother Charlayne Woodard, (TV?s ?Pose?) has been by her son?s side since day one and really does believe he?s a superhero.
Something tells me she knows a lot more about Elijah and what's up his sleeve. In fact, it?s not long before Kevin and ?Mr. Glass? are cooking up a scheme that could have world-wide ramifications.
Universal Pictures and M. Night Shyamalan have kindly asked press not to reveal too many key plot points and twists of ?Glass? so that viewers can enjoy the surprise moments too.
So, if this review seems a bit cryptic, that?s why. But, believe me, Shyamalan?s ?Glass? is quite good and is strong enough to shatter the box office competition this weekend.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays now at 6:20 p.m. on radio station KFBK 1530 AM and 93.1 FM.
Check Out This Trailer For
"GLASS"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of The Broadcast Film Critics? Association (BFCA), The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC), The Alliance Of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.