By: Keaton Marcus

DISCLAIMER: IF YOU ARE UNDER THE AGE OF 14, YOU SHOULD ASK YOUR PARENTS IF YOU ARE ALLOWED, IF THEY SAY NO…IT MEANS NO!

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M. Night Shyamalan decided to make a superhero film, and the result is strictly mediocre and very frustrating; After a drama film called 'Unbreakable' to kick off the series starring Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, Shyamalan made a "kidnapping" horror pic called 'Split' and decided that it would be delightful to have a money-making trilogy; This managed to work out, until the acclaimed director decided to make a comic-themed film called 'Glass' which features all three characters, and hopefully is, the conclusion to the now suddenly tired trilogy. However, while the film has numerous imperfections, there is still some signature Shyamalan bits that make 'Glass' half-full.

The entertainment value in the first half of the film is exceptional in "Glass", featuring more solid performances, and another excellent scene with The Horde (James McAvoy), but when the two are sent to the 'facility', things start to slow down, and the film is quite shattered. The whacky performance from Sarah Paulson seldom works with the ambition of Shyamalan's newest pic, as she plays a psychiatrist with a character twist, but the lack of development, in any of the characters for that matter hammer the attempts to make playful twists by the filmmaker all for not.

The film still follows the story of security guard David Dunn (Willis) who works alone with his son (Spencer Treat Clark) and hunts down criminals one by one, dubbed 'The Overseer' by the media. At the beginning of the film, he is shown tracking down Kevin Wendell Crumb/The Horde (McAvoy), who supposedly has teenage girls tied up; However, when the authorities catch the two fighting, they are sent to an asylum for people who 'believe' they are superheroes; Later, the two meet Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson), and the latter (Kevin) teams up with him to break out of the building, tempting David for a final battle, to show the world that superheroes exist.

Shyamalan's career has had its high points.... and a lot of low points. His first big break was a phenomenal psychological horror film called 'The Sixth Sense' starring Bruce Willis, starting out a potentially successful career, as he once was known as 'the new Spielberg'; The aforementioned film next up for Shyamalan was 'Unbreakable' which also received some fantastic response. Though, after his two best films, the filmmaker also made some truly... appalling films, such as manga adaptation 'The Last Airbender' or Mark Wahlberg-starring thriller 'The Happening', or even Will Smith vehicle 'After Earth'. In 'Glass' his many cracks and his couple intelligent efforts show, a little too much.

'Glass' tries at many points to be an intelligent thriller and a superhero pic, and the film succeeds occasionally, but never really takes control of its very interesting premise. Although the movie is better than your average Zack Snyder DC film (hum... 'Justice League'), but the attempted action sequences are atrociously filmed, and look like the protagonist and antagonist are.... wrestling each other, which sounds fun, until you realize that they are trying to make a superhero film, not a WWE documentary. The film does earn brownie points for ambition and creativity, but is very disappointing, then the anticipated result. Even the names of the characters, David Dunn (DD) stench of superhero names, with both initials sporting alliteration, Peter Parker (PP) Matt Murdock (MM) etc. I appreciate Shyamalan's effort of world-building, but really, it kind of flopped.

The cast is the real must-see for "Glass", and is pretty much the only thing audiences can enjoy in this strictly mediocre film; Featuring Bruce Willis once again as security guard David Dunn, the veteran delivers another solid offering from his career, despite the script falters. James McAvoy plays Kevin Wendell Crumb, and gives a showboating performance worth a watch or two, giving the best performance of his usually quiet career; Playing 24 different personalities in one film, McAvoy is so impressive to see, it may make your eyes burn, and does require an audience willing to take a nutty journey of M. Night Shyamalan. The third main character, a true veteran to the series, is actor Samuel L. Jackson playing the titular role of Mr. Glass, who for one hour+ of the film twitches with his eye at the camera, making a new character tick, that is actually extremely creepy, and silly at the same time, but it rejoins Jackson with the character well enough to watch.

The final verdict is: 'Glass' features fantastic performances by its talented cast, and earns points for sheer ambition, but the misfiring action sequences and the sheer disappointment of the conclusion makes Shyamalan's newest shattered…$KIP IT

By: Keaton Marcus

Box Office Info:

Opening: 40.3M

Domestic Total: 111M

Worldwide Total: 246.9M