The Harsh Truth About M. Night Shyamalan’s Superhero Trilogy Explains Why Glass Is One Of His Worst-Received Films

M. Night Shyamalan has an eclectic body of work that frequently divides audiences and critics alike, yet Glass secures its spot as one of the director’s worst-received films — and it’s for good reason. More often than not, Shyamalan is recognized for silly but entertaining twists that stick with audiences. Unbreakable launched Shyamalan’s superhero trilogy, though this unique franchise only really came to be when the final moments of Split revealed it was a stealth sequel to the filmmakers’ 2000 hit. The first two chapters in his story were relatively popular, but Glass unfortunately shattered the acclaim of Shyamalan’s unusual superhero films.

The ending to Glass may have subverted expectations and included a slew of controversial deaths, but the movie itself had a lot of problems. The final installment brought together the characters of Unbreakable, David Dunn (Bruce Willis) and Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) as well as Split’s Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy). The concluding chapter was hindered by many confusing elements that led to an anti-climatic ending, which tarnished the legacy of Shyamalan’s 19-year-old series.

Unbreakable & Split Are Both Incredible Movies Regardless Of Their Connection

The Two Movies Can Be Watched As Entirely Separate Entities

Split was not advertised as a continuation of Unbreakable, but the last few moments revealed that the movie took place within the same universe as the superhuman, David Dunn. The absence of any connection to Unbreakable‘s story put Split in very good stead, allowing it to stand as a strong horror film in its own right. In part, this is down to McAvoy’s outstanding performance. The menacing depiction of Split‘s titular character, Crumb, is the perfect demonstration of McAvoy’s capacity for horror, which undoubtedly resulted in further involvement in the genre — such as McAvoy’s role in Speak No Evil.

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To say nothing of Unbreakable‘s status as one of Hollywood’s all-time classics. The movie may not have been a runaway hit, but Unbreakable found a huge cult following in the years since its debut. 24 years later, it is still ranked as one of Shyamalan’s best movies. Considering the time of its release, Unbreakable was relatively groundbreaking in defying many expectations of comic book movies. Unbreakable features Shyamalan’s best visual storytelling with camerawork that enhances the comic book exposition. Accompanying this is Shyamalan’s illustrious protagonist, Dunn, who reigns superior as Bruce Willis’ strongest action hero.

Glass Was The Conclusion To A Trilogy That Didn’t Need To Exist

Glass Is The Worst Rated Movie In The Unbreakable Trilogy

It’s not necessary to watch Unbreakable or Split before Glass, but it does certainly help. This only serves to prove that Shyamalan’s trilogy did not need to exist. It’s important to note that Glass did have some interesting concepts and was somewhat enjoyable. However, in the bigger picture of Unbreakable‘s timeline, Shyamalan’s first two movies are self-contained quite well without the addition of Glass. While the final installment strives for overly ambitious thematic connections, it falls short when considering how much anticipation there was for the film that would bring it all together.

Glass fell behind by an almost 50% decline in ratings compared to its counterparts. Sitting at a devastating 37% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, a significant downturn only serves to highlight its expendable role in the franchise. Some argue that Willis’ small amount of screen time in Glass was concerning as an accompaniment to a story on the legacy of David Dunn, which gives little value to its predecessors. Retrospectively, Glass damages one of M. Night Shyamalan’s best movies.

Release Date

January 16, 2019

Studio(s)

Universal Pictures

Distributor(s)

Universal Pictures , Disney

Runtime

129 minutes

Budget

$20 million

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