“Glass” SPOILER Review: Why Must I Suffer?

COURTESY PHOTO

Look, I just want to watch good movies. It’s why I go to the theater every weekend and drain my already precarious bank account. So, when I go to the theater and see a movie like “Glass,” which is amazing for an hour and a half, only to see it completely soil itself in the final fifteen minutes, I get a bit annoyed.

“Glass” is the third film in M. Night Shyamalan’s trilogy preceded by “Unbreakable” and “Split.” Security guard David Dunn has continued his secret life as a crime fighter with help from his now adult son. After putting former friend Elijah Price, aka Mr. Glass, in prison for numerous acts of terrorism, he thought his days dealing with super criminals was over. Now, however, he battles a new threat to the public in The Beast, a super strong man with multiple personalities.

The latter served as a secret sequel to the 2002 Bruce Willis thriller. Creating a connected film universe was a master stroke for the infamous Shyamalan. The fact that we didn’t know that they were connected going in is what made it so special and unique. I was a huge fan of “Unbreakable” for its exploration of the superhero genre and mystique and would often cite it in my defense of Shyamalan’s ability as a writer/director. That being said, he ruined everything with the ending of this film.

I might seem like I’m being hyperbolic with my criticism, but I can assure you I’m not. Let me give the film it’s due credit before I break down into complete madness. James McAvoy is phenomenal in this role. His portrayal of Kevin Wendell Crumb and his two dozen alternate personalities is something I have never seen before. It’s honestly a shame that this film is out in January and he won’t be considered for any kind of Oscar or Golden Globe nomination.

The storyline and writing itself is also a highlight. The previous two films are summarized and tied in very well newcomers of the franchise (though I would still recommend watching the first two, simply because they are awesome movies). This is a big reason why I am so frustrated with the failing of this film’s ending. It takes what could have been a perfect conclusion to a legendary trilogy and ruins it.

I also don’t know how I can properly complain about this film without discussing the ending and major plot points in detail. So, fair warning here, this is your one SPOILER ALERT before I go off.

Everything is building up as the conclusion of the film begins to play out. We’re about to get the final battle between Dunn and The Beast that the entire movie has been building up to. And then! . . . a secret society kills everyone. Yup. A secret organization that discreetly kills superheroes covers up the whole thing. WHAT A TWIST!

This is classic M. Night Shyamalan being so in his head about his “twists” in all of his movies. He had already done a fine job surprising viewers with many events throughout the course of the movie. He didn’t need to also add a convoluted conspiracy with the literal Illuminati controlling or overseeing everything. It feels like he’s trying to be unique with this ending, but fails and settles into cliché. There were no hints in any of the three films that could have suggested that this group even could have existed. No, instead it’s just thrown at us as a commentary on people being afraid of what they don’t understand in an attempt to seem clever or wise. It fails at this objective and instead allows itself to merely contrived and ridiculous.

You might be thinking I’m just upset that it didn’t have a “happy” ending or one that I personally agree with. This is far more complicated than that. I can allow an ending where everyone dies if it makes sense. If a secret society was going to be the reveal, then there needed to be clues. Something to make me think it could happen. Good twists and reveals are cleverly hidden in plain sight so you feel as if you missed something. Just having the Illuminati kill everyone without warning as the ending is just a writer sitting at a desk struggling to think of an actual ending.

I would have preferred that it just cut to black and told me “think of your own ending.” I’m positive that most viewers easily could.