A Movie Review #3 - Glass

“Superman did not fly”

Why do we need superheroes? And by extension why do we need fiction?

Voltaire once said, if God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him. But what if God did exist? What would happen then?

Glass is the culmination of a serialized deconstruction of the superhero trope. Since Bruce Willis’s David Dunn emerged as the only survivor of a train crash and Samuel Jackson’s Elijah Price proved to be the brains behind David’s emergence in that conducted tragedy – there has been a lack of resolution as to how the comic book story should end.

In came the Horde, with an intriguing performance by James McAvoy who seems to still be the only person trying his level best to keep the momentum of the series. For Willis and Jackson, it seems the years have passed them by.

As a story structure it is quite simplistic – Dunn takes on the Horde, and both of them are captured and sent to a mental institution where Mr Glass aka Elijah is being held. What actually becomes intriguing is how Dr Ellie Staple, their head physician played by a grim-faced Sarah Paulson, tries to manipulate them into believing that they are deluded and not actual ‘superheroes or supervillains’.

I was already a fan of McAvoy’s Horde in Split, but didn’t find the story good enough in exploring it. Here, it is more interesting as we see how his personalities are waging their own war, some wanting the Beast and some against. It gives McAvoy a ridiculous range to pursue and he pulls it off with aplomb. If only his fellow cast members can say the same.

Given this is titled Glass, it’s only appropriate Jackson’s character would have a lot of exposure. We see a childhood traumatic experience that left him feeling like a mistake – and it’s the drive to find purpose that makes us travel from there to the train crash and finally the mental asylum.

For Elijah is determined to prove he, and the others, were not a mistake.

The problem for David and the supporting characters in his son (now a crime fighting duo), Elijah’s mother and Casey, the survivor in Split – is that they are just there. This is a movie of villains, and heroes and sidekicks are only for thematic purpose.

It’s an interesting commentary on the usage of superheroes as inspiration mechanisms, as thought processes and ideas that drive us to reach impossible heights. We are all too mortal, but that never stops us from living up to what Superman and Batman aspire for. And interesting that it's done by focusing on the villains. Sometimes they are the best reflection of heroic ideals in perverse fashion.

This trilogy has been mostly about that effect. About this not being a limited edition, but an origin. An origin where everyone finds their inner superhero. Their inner superhuman.

In the process of exploring that idea, the plot gets decimated. Even the final twist, while satisfying, feels like it has been telegraphed too well. Maybe time has passed Shyamalam by, and in this new world, his twists once a signature of amazing film making – is now just the epilogue to a one directional movie.

But Mr Glass’s monologue at the end does ring true.

Why aren’t we meant to have this kind of power? Maybe we had it all along?

Cause you know – Superman did fly. He flew cause we wanted him to.

So, I give this 7.5 out of 10

+Interesting exploration of themes

+Wonderful monologue at the end

+James McAvoy is delightful as the Horde

-Some characters are completely wasted

-The conflict feels forced and by the numbers