Glass is the final movie in M. Night Shyamalan’s trilogy about people with superhero (or supervillain) powers. It’s a delicious psychological thriller told in comic book style. Do not miss the ending of this story! 

Glass is the third and final movie in the trilogy from M. Night Shyamalan that began back in 2000 with Unbreakable. Then in 2016 came Split which ended with a scene that showed us it took place in the same universe.

Please note: This review of Glass will include spoilers for the two previous movies (Unbreakable and Split) since Glass ties the two together to complete the story. You can read our review of Split here >

As a fun little cameo, M. Night Shyamalan reprises his role from Split. Also, Glass ties that character in with his character in Unbreakable to complete the circle. This is a trilogy in every way.

All three movies are about seemingly normal human beings who potentially have supernatural powers. These powers essentially mean that they’re actual superheroes of a sort. Or villains, in some cases. 

Yes, you do have to watch Unbreakable and Split first!

The story in Glass is all about whether these people actually possess any powers or if they just suffer from delusions of grandeur. And yes, you probably will start to doubt facts as much as the characters are forced to.

If you watch Glass without watching Unbreakable and Split first, then it will be a damn shame. A waste of time even. It would be like watching the third movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy without having watched the two first.

Sure, you will probably be entertained. But you will also be confused and miss out on a bunch of cool details.

Also: Watch a video recap of Unbreakable and Split >

We made sure to watch both movies in the days leading up to the press screening of Glass and there’s no doubt this improved our experience a lot. Also, there are scenes from Unbreakable that weren’t used in the movie and are included in this one.

The most awesome reunion in Glass

We all know that Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson are awesome. And not just from their work in Unbreakable, but it is a real treat to see them return to these characters perfectly.

What’s even more amazing is seeing an adult Spencer Treat Clark as Joseph Dunn. He was the young son of Bruce Willis’ character, David Dunn, in Unbreakable. In Glass, he’s working with his dad as a sort of tech side-kick to help get the bad guys.

And while I also enjoyed seeing Charlayne Woodard reprise her role as the mother of Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), her aging make-up was not good. She looked more like a burn victim than an old lady. It’s a damn shame because Charlayne Woodard is still brilliant as the mother of “Mr. Glass”.

Especially when we have Mahershala Ali on season 3 of True Detective on TV at the same time. Now that is some of the best aging make-up effects I have ever seen!

Glass (2019) Review Shyamalan

The phenomenal James McAvoy

Along with reuniting the cast from Unbreakable, we also get a Split reunion. Of course, a lot of characters from that movie didn’t make it, but James McAvoy and Anya Taylor-Joy did and are both big parts of Glass.

In fact, I would say that despite the movie being called Glass, we get a lot more of James McAvoy than we do Samuel L. Jackson. This is about the role of “Mr. Glass” in the world, but Samuel L. Jackson doesn’t get to really play along until the final half of the movie.

James McAvoy meanwhile has even more characters appear than what we saw in Split. It’s both funny and scary to see him jump from one personality to the next. And yes, the 9-year old Hedwig is still there. And also still fond of using “etcetera” to finish a sentence.

Casey Cooke (Anya Taylor-Joy) is a big part of the story since she wants to help Kevin Wendell Crumb. He’s the original James McAvoy character, who gave up on life and allowed the other personalities to take charge. Since Casey feels that she has gotten a new chance in life, she wants Kevin to have the same.

Sarah Paulson as the new kid in class

The character bringing David Dunn (Bruce Willis), Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy) and Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) together is Dr. Ellie Staple. She’s a psychiatrist who specializes in people who think they have supernatural powers.

Dr. Ellie Staple is portrayed wonderfully by Sarah Paulson, who many will know from several seasons of American Horror Story, as well as Bird Box. She is so soft and kind while applying logic to prove to her three patients that everything they’ve experienced can be explained.

Also, she is constantly wearing sweaters that appear to be made from cashmere or silk. This gives her a soft frame and glow that supports her sweet and endearing nature. Of course, her character isn’t as simple as she appears. But she also isn’t the complete opposite, so don’t think you’ve got her figured out.

The infamous Shyamalan twist in Glass

While Unbreakable and Glass featured stories focusing on a mystery, Glass is very different. We already know what’s going on and that does make this movie very different. I personally really liked the way it ties everything together to create a complete trilogy. And also, this is definitely the final movie with these characters.

However, I also know that everyone watched a movie by M. Night Shyamalan expecting that weird and crazy twists. He began his career with these and now people think this is all his movies are about. It’s like chasing a climax and not enjoying the ride there.

But yes, Glass does have a few Shyamalan twists, so you should not be disappointed. It might not be what you expect, but it does fit very well into the kind of world we live in now. And no, it has nothing to do with anyone in The White House.

Glass will make you question whether superheroes exist (we already know the villains do!). Perhaps more importantly, it will also make you consider how you feel about this possibility. 

Glass will be out in US theaters from January 18, 2019. And the release date for most of the world is around the same time.

Details

Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Writers: M. Night Shyamalan
Stars: James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Sarah Paulson, Spencer Treat Clark, Charlayne Woodard, Luke Kirby

Plot

Following the conclusion of Split, David Dunn (Bruce Willis) pursues Kevin Wendell Crumb’s (James McAvoy) superhuman persona of The Beast in a series of escalating encounters while the shadowy presence of Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), going by ‘Mr. Glass’, emerges as an orchestrator who holds secrets critical to both men.

I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!
Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard
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