‘Glass’ Cracks Under Pressure of High Fan Expectations

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Poster design by Universal Studios / Graphic by Vaughan Westcott

The recently released ‘Glass’ was highly anticipated and then fell far short of expectations , many fans of the trilogy said.

Alex Levy, Staff Writer

Universal Studios’ “Glass” starring Samuel L. Jackson as Elijah Price premiered Jan. 18 bringing in $223.5 million worldwide and $99.6 million domestically. Based on the M. Night Shyamalan trilogy, director Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan produced an unsettling and confusing two hour and nine-minute film that brings viewers into the lives of Elijah Price, Kevin Wendell Crumb, David Dunn and many other characters.

Following the conclusion of “Split” which was the second movie in the trilogy, “Glass” finds David Dunn, played by Bruce Willis in pursuit of Kevin Wendell Crumb, played by James McAvoy’s superhuman figure of  “The Beast,” in a series of escalating hostile encounters. They are put into a mental institution run by Emily Staple, portrayed by Sarah Paulson. However, the shadowy character Elijah Price is also in the institution and he emerges as the true mastermind behind significant events that occur in the movie.

The plot does not make sense until the very end of the movie. Staple explains everything that previously happened in the plot by incorporating many confusing and ridiculous metaphors about Lady Liberty’s role in the movie. It is not told in the movie at all but moviegoers have to assume that she is part of a mysterious organization because she talks to various characters at the end of movie who are appearing for the first time and their roles are completely unclear.

The only way for audience members to infer that they are some sort of mysterious organization is because she says “our group’s purpose.” This is a ridiculous plot twist that isn’t needed at all. Shyamalan favors this technique in most of his movies to throw off the audience which leaves a confusing mess in the movie and ends the trilogy on a confusing note.

While the plot line was confusing and a bit messy, Shyamalan appropriately referenced his prequels. Nowadays viewers need to watch all the prequels in order to understand the sequel. This aspect really helped fans and new movie joiners to understand the current movie.

Another positive aspect of this movie is that they did not recast any characters. Fans who have been watching any of the prequels have created a type of connection to these characters and their respective actors.

“I like this movie series a lot especially since it had the same actors. I don’t like when they use different actors to play the same characters,” sophomore Aliyah Brammar said.

Nonetheless, too much of a good thing can turn bad. In this case, Shyamalan gives the other essential points from the prequels and focuses on that more than needed and it just made his project feel like a trailer. Too many characters referencing the prequels was annoying and felt just like a really long trailer.

“Glass” is a movie that is a poor conclusion to the trilogy Shyamalan created for the past 20 years. It is confusing, disappointing and felt like a really long trailer. For those have loved the other two movies and really wanted to watch this one they will be thoroughly let down.